JEREMIAH    MASON. 


MEMOIR,  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  AND 
CORRESPONDENCE 


OF 


JEREMIAH  MASON 


MEMOIRS 

OF 


JEREMIAH    MASON 

\  \ 


Reproduction  of  privately  printed  Edition  of  1873 
Illustrated  and  Annotated,  with  Enlarged  Index 

by 
G.  J.  Clark  of  Kansas  City,  Mo. 


BOSTON  LAW  BOOK  CO. 

8  Pemberton  Sq. 

Boston,  Mass. 


£340 
34  Pi ' 

7 


COPYRIOIIT,  1917 

BY 

BOSTON  LAW  BOOK  CO. 


DEDICATION 

This  book  is  gratefully  inscribed  by  the  editor  and  reviser  to  the  first  of  the 
"Noble  Three  Hundred"  subscribers  for  the  Memoir  before  publication,  thus  mak 
ing  its  issue  possible. 

Among  these  are  the  following: 

Wells  H.  Blodgett,  St.  Louis,  and  Hon.  W.  W.  Graves,  Jefferson  City,  both  of 
Mo.;  Gardiner  Lathrop,  Chicago,  E.  B.  Hamilton,  Peoria,  both  of  111.;  Harvey  D. 
Goulder,  Cleveland,  Mortimer  Matthews,  Cincinnati,'  both  of  0.;  Edgar  T. 
Brackett,  Saratoga  Springs,  Julien  T.  Davies,  N.  Y.  C.,  both  of  N.  Y.;  Jas. 
Gay  Gordon,  Philadelphia,  S.  M.  Hazlett,  Pittsburg,  both  of  Pa.;  Hon.  Robt. 
F.  'Raymond,  Boston,  Wilmore  B.  Stone,  Springfield,  both  of  Mass.;  Fred  W. 
Lawrence,  Showhegan,  W.  R.  Roix,  Presque  Isle,  both  of  Me.;  Daniel  Davenport, 
Bridgeport,  Wm.  H.  Shields,  Norwich,  both  of  Conn.;  Wm.  P.  Sheffield,  Newport, 
R.  I.;  Waldron  M.  Ward,  Newark,  N.  J.;  Hon.  Wm.  B.  Sawyer,  Concord,  Irving 
W.  Drew,  Lancaster,  both  of  N.  H.;  Fred  A.  Baker,  R.  A.  Parker,  both  of  De 
troit,  Mich.;  Messrs.  Bouck,  Hilton,  Kluwin  &  Dempsey,  Oshkosh,  and  Burr  W. 
Jones,  Madison,  all  of  Wis.;  Wm.  D.  Mitchell,  St.  Paul,  C.  J.  Rockwood,  Min 
neapolis,  both  of  Minn.;  A.  G.  Sampson,  Davenport,  W.  E.  Mitchell,  Council 
Bluffs,  both  of  la.;  Sharpless  Walker,  Miles  City,  Ransom  Cooper,  Great  Falls, 
both  of  Mont.;  Jess  Hawley,  Boise,  J.  C.  Rogers,  Burley,  both  of  Idaho;  Geo.  A. 
Bangs,  Grand  Forks,  S.  D.;  Clarence  M.  Beck,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah;  L.  Ward 
Bannister,  Denver,  Sam'l  H.  Kinsley,  Colorado  Springs,  both  of  Colo.;  Jas.  B. 
Howe,  Seattle,  Chas.  0.  Bates,  Tacoma,  both  of  Wash.;  Wm.  M.  Abbott  and  S. 
H.  Derby,  both  of  San  Francisco,  Calif.;  F.  Dumont  Smith,  Hutchinson,  Kans.; 
Harry  Campbell,  Tulsa,  Okla.;  E.  J.  Smith,  Nashville,  Marion  Griffin,  Memphis, 
both  of  Tenn.;  Hon.  Nelson  Phillips,  Austin,  F.  M.  Etheridge,  Dallas,  both  of 
Texas;  David  L.  Withington,  M.  B.  Henshaw,  both  of  Honolulu,  Hawaii  Territory; 
Herman  Lewkowitz,  Phoenix,  Ariz.;  Arthur  F.  Odlin,  Arcadia,  Fla.;  also  New 
York  Public  Library  and  N.  Y.  Historical  Society,  both  of  N.  Y.  City;  Ky.  State 
Library,  Frankfort,  Ky.  The  Biddle  Law  Library,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  and  Two 
Hundred  and  Fifty  more  "immortals." 


M6O841 


ERRATA. 


1.  Mrs.  Jerome  Bonaparte,  wife  of  the  younger  brother  of  Napoleon  I,  is 
here  meant.     She  was  before  marriage  to  Jerome   Bonaparte,  December,   1803, 
Miss  Elizabeth  Patterson  of  Baltimore,  Md.     They  were  divorced  in  1805.    Note 
"b,"  p.  68. 

2.  The  same  person,  Mrs.  Jerome  Bonaparte,  is  meant,  instead  of  Mariae 
Rose  Josephine,  wife  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  at  page  73,  Note  "a." 

3.  Read  "Wirt"  instead  of  "Wist,"  note  "c,"  2nd  word,  p.  187. 

4.  Read  "us"  instead  of  "as,"— 6th  line;  and  "our"  instead  of  "out,"— llth 
line,  p.  198. 


PREFACE  TO  EDITION  OF  1873. 


I  was  asked  by  my  friend,  Mr.  Robert  Means  Mason,  to  prepare 
from  materials  furnished  by  him,  a  Memoir  of  his  father,  Mr.  Jeremiah 
Mason.  He  was  desirous  that  such  of  his  father's  descendants  as  had 
never  seen  him  should  have  some  more  distinct  impression  of  what 
manner  of  man  he  was  than  could  be  gathered  from  memory  and 
tradition.  I  readily  complied  with  his  request,  as  I  had  known  his 
father  in  the  last  years  of  his  life,  and  retained  a  fresh  impression  of 
his  peculiar  traits  of  mind  and  character,  as  well  as  a  grateful  sense 
of  his  kindness  to  me  personally.  It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  this 
Memoir  is  privately  printed,  and  intended  only  for  a  limited  circle  of 
readers;  it  thus  has  more  of  Mr.  Mason's  domestic  correspondence 
than  would  have  been  proper  in  a  published  work. 

I  have  been  assisted  in  my  task  by  many  of  Mr.  Mason's  surviv 
ing  friends ;  among  them,  Mr.  Daniel  M.  Christie,  of  Dover,  N.  H. ; 
Mr.  Samuel  P.  Long,  formerly  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  now  of  Boston; 
Mr.  John  P.  Lord,  of  South  Berwick,  Maine,  Mr.  Ebenezer  Wheel 
wright,  formerly  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and  Mr.  Lory  Odell  and  Mr. 
W.  H.  Y.  Hackett,  both  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  To  the  last  named 
gentleman  I  am  under  peculiar  obligations,  as  he  has  answered  my 
frequent  inquiries,  and  obtained  information  for  me,  with  a  zeal  and 
readiness  which  nothing  but  a  warm  interest  in  the  subject  could  have 
inspired. 

My  work,  as  it  went  on,  was  submitted  to  the  inspection  of  Mr. 
R.  M.  Mason,  and  has  throughout  profited  by  his  judgment  and  taste. 

G.  S.  HILLARD.     (a) 
BOSTON,  June,  1873. 

(a)  George  Stillman  Hillard,  an  American  lawyer  and  author,  was  born  at 
Machias,  Maine,  on  the  22nd  of  September,  1808;  after  graduation  at  Harvard 


vi  PREFACE 


College,  in  1828,  he  taught  in  the  Round  Hill  School  at  Northampton,  Massa 
chusetts;  graduated  at  the  Harvard  Law  School  in  1832,  and  in  1833  was  ad 
mitted  to  the  bar  in  Boston;  entered  into  a  partnership  with  Charles  Sumner; 
was  a  member  of  the  State  House  of  Representatives  in  1836 ;  of  the  State  Senate 
in  1850;  of  the  State  Constitutional  Convention,  in  1853;  and  was  United  States 
Attorney  for  Massachusetts,  1866-70.  He  devoted  a  large  portion  of  his  time  to 
literature,  receiving  high  commendation  from  C.  H.  Hill,  a  compentent  critic,  for 
the  literary  merit  of  this  Memoir,  and  as  a  legislator  won  warm  commendation 
from  Daniel  Webster.  In  1833  he  edited  the  Christian  Register.  Subsequently 
he  became  associated  with  Mr.  Sumner  in  the  publication  of  the  Jurist  (1829-43), 
a  legal  journal  to  which  Charles  Sumner,  Simon  Greenleaf  and  Theron  Metcalf 
contributed;  and  from  1856-61,  owned  an  interest  in  the  Boston  Courier,  of  which 
he  was  associate  editor  until  he  retired  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War.  In 
1847  he  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  before  the  Lowell  Institute.  Trinity  gave 
him  the  degree  of  LL.  D.,  in  1857.  His  addresses  include  a  4th  of  July  Oration 
(Boston,  1836),  Dangers  and  Duties  of  the  Mercantile  Profession,  delivered  before 
the  Mercantile  Library  Association  (1850),  and  an  oration  before  the  N.  Y.  Pil 
grim  Society  (1851),  a  eulogy  on  Daniel  Webster  (1852).  He  was  the  author  of 
the  privately  printed  Memoirs  of  James  Brown,  and  of  Jeremiah  Mason,  and  a 
Life  of  Captain  John  Smith  for  Spark's  American  Biography;  published  the  Prac 
tical  Works  of  Edmund  Spencer,  with  a  critical  introduction  (1832)  ;  a  transla 
tion  of  Guizot's  Essay*  on  the  Character  and  Influence  of  George  Washington 
(1840);  a  Memorial  of  Daniel  Webster;  and  Six  Months  in  Italy  (1853);  Life 
and  Campaigns  of  George  Bi.  McClellan  (Philadelphia,  1856)  ;  Political  Duties  of 
the  Educated  Classes,  a  pamphlet  (Boston,  1866),  and  Life  of  George  Tichnor, 
with  Mrs.  George  Tichnor,  (Boston,  1873).  He  also  published  Selections  from  the 
Writings  of  Walter  Savage  Landor  (1856)  ;  besides  a  series  of  School  readers  and 
many  articles  in  periodicals  and  encyclopedias.  He  died  in  Boston,  January 
21,  1879. 


FOREWORD  TO  EDITION  OF  1917. 

This  Reproduction  of  the  Memoir  of  Mr.  Mason  has  been  undertaken,  for  the 
reason  that  it  is  believed,  the  delineation  of  the  career  of  the  greatest  com 
mon-law  lawyer  this  country  has  produced,  cannot  but  be  helpful  to  the  busy 
lawyer  of  today.  The  edition  of  1873,  printed  by  the  family,  in  a  limited  200-copy 
edition,  for  private  circulation,  has  become  exceedingly  scarce,  and  consequently 
very  expensive,  varying  in  value  from  $40  to  $60  per  copy, — one  copy,  inter 
leaved  with  cuts,  and  bound  in  two  volumes,  selling  recently  to  a  leading  Mis 
souri  lawyer  for  $125. 

Mr.  Mason's  superiority  as  a  lawyer  lay  in  his  solid  qualities,  exact  knowl 
edge  of  the  law,  and  great  skill  in  applying  it.  An  expert  in  examination  and 
cross-examination,  he  drew  from  a  witness,  just  what  he  desired  and  no  more. 
He  was  enabled  to  do  this  as  he  knew  exactly  what  he  wanted.  He  never  went 
to  trial  without  talking  with  his  witnesses,  beforehand,  and,  therefore,  knew  what 
they  were  going  to  say.  He  was  a  profound  student  of  human  nature,  never 
perturbed,  of  unerring  judgment,  and  possessed  rare  common  sense, — an  "un 
common"  endowment.  While  not  an  orator,  in  the  common  acceptation  of  that 
term,  he  ranked  not  with  Erskine,  Brougham,  Pinkney,  Webster  and  Choate,  but 
rather  with  the  three  greatest  verdict  winners  in  the  history  of  the  profession, — 
Dunning,  Scarlett  and  Luther  Martin. 

The  author  believes  that  the  careful  study  and  appropriation  of  the  knowl 
edge  and  methods  of  the  great  masters  in  the  exacting  profession  of  the  law, 
cannot  but  be  beneficial  to  the  practitioner  of  today.  We  know  of  no  better  model, 
in  all  the  elements  that  lead  to  success,  than  Mr.  Mason.  A  close  study  of  this 
Memoir,  will  lead  any  careful  student,  it  is  believed,  to  the  same  conclusion.  A 
somewhat  extended  study  of  the  lives  of  judges  and  lawyers  during  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  over  a  period  covering  five  hundred  years  of  time,  has  pro 
foundly  impressed  us  with  the  fact  that  nearly  all  of  our  masters  in  the  law, 
have  familiarized  themselves  with  the  methods  of  their  predecessors  and  con 
temporaries.  Especially  is  this  true  of  Erskine,  Brougham,  Romilly,  and  Scarlett 
of  England;  and  Wirt,  Pinkney,  Webster,  Choate  and  Prentiss,  of  America. 


viii  FOREWORD 


This  edition  is  limited  to  1,500  numbered  copies.  Fifty-one  illustrations  have 
been  added,  and  ninety-eight  annotations  to  the  text  (including  the  Latin  trans 
lations),  which  it  is  believed  will  enliven  and  illumine  the  work.  The  Arabic 
figures  in  parentheses,  throughout  the  text,  indicate  the  bottom  of  the  page  in 
the  1873  edition.  This  double  paging  makes  either  edition  available  for  his 
torical  reference.  The  author's  notes  are  indicated  by  lower-case  letters  of  the 
alphabet,  as  distinguished  from  Mr.  Hillard's  notes,  in  the  original  edition,  in 
dicated  by  Arabic  figures. 

For  a  cursory  view  of  Mr.  Mason's  life  and  work,  examine  his  Autobiography, 
pp.  1-36,  inclusive.  While  it  covers  but  twenty-nine  of  his  eighty  years  of  life,  it 
is  first-hand  information,  modestly  told.  Study,  also,  John  P.  Lord's  Recollections, 
pp.  43-45,  inclusive,  for  a  glimpse  of  Mr.  Mason's  office  methods;  the  Dartmouth 
College  Case,  pp.  162-167,  inclusive,  to  observe  the  grasp  of  the  great  principles  in 
volved  in  that  epochal  case;  his  Eminence  as  a  Lawyer,  by  Geo.  S.  Hillard,  showing 
wherein  he  excelled  others  in  his  legal  acumen,  pp.  366-384,  inclusive;  Webster's 
Memorial  Address,  pp.  390-405,  inclusive, — for  a  resume  of  his  entire  life;  and 
Rev.  J.  H.  Morison's  letter  to  R.  M.  Mason,  pp.  427-432,  inclusive,  for  a  reminiscent 
communication  of  incidents  and  anecdotes. 

Thanks  are  due  Hon.  Oliver  H.  Dean,  President  of  the  Kansas  City  School  of 
Law,  the  Nestor  of  the  Kansas  City  Bar,  for  the  Introduction  to  the  Memoir, 
which  he  was  kind  enough  to  prepare,  amid  the  exacting  cares  of  a  busy  pro 
fession;  and  to  Charles  M.  Ingraham,  Esq.,  not  only  a  leading  member  of  our 
local  Bar,  but  a  connoisseur  in  the  classics,  for  translating  the  many  Latin  pas 
sages  abounding  in  the  work.  While  much  labor  and  time  have  been  expended, 
in  putting  forth  this  reprint,  upon  the  whole,  it  has  been  a  work  of  pleasure  and 
inspiration. 

Kansas  City,  Mo.,  Dec.  10,  1917. 

G.  J.  CLARK. 


INTRODUCTION 

When  we  record  the  life  of  a  person  which  has  been  particularly  honorable 
and  useful,  whose  influence  has  exerted  itself  in  a  valuable  way  in  many  im 
portant  phases  of  our  history,  whose  principal  features  furnish  inspiration  and 
courage  to  all  who  may  study  it,  and  when  in  that  study  is  found  much  to  im- 
mitate  and  when  also,  in  that  study  is  discovered  a  mind  that  is  broad  and  gen 
erous  and  through  which  our  own  is  broadened  and  softened,  what  better  work 
can  be  undertaken  than  to  publish  the  history  and  merits  of  such  a  life? 

The  best  view  that  can  be  obtained  of  times  and  conditions  is  found  in  the 
biographies  and  autobiographies  of  the  men  who  prominently  figured  in  their 
times.  The'  world  would  be  dark  as  to  many  things  if  it  were  not  for  Plutarch's 
Lives;  and  would  not  much  be  lost  to  us  if  we  were  not  brought,  by  biography, 
in  close  contact  with  the  work  of  the  men  who  performed  influential  parts  in  the 
formative  period  of  the  American  Republic? 

The  great  experiment,  as  it  may  be  truly  said  to  have  been  an  experiment, 
to  launch  in  the  Western  world  a  Republican  form  of  government,  in  which  in 
dividual  liberty  would  be  combined  with  safety  and  order,  was  fraught  with  many 
difficulties  and  dangers.  The  experiment  had  miserably  failed  in  previous  times. 
The  first  forty  years  of  our  own  history  was  filled  with  doubts;  and  arguments 
were  frequent,  constant,  why  our  form  of  government  could,  and  ought,  to  con 
tinue  to  exist.  Washington  in  his  Farewell  Address  recognized  this  doubt.  He  said: 

"Is  there  a  doubt,  whether  a  common  government  can  embrace  so 
large  a  sphere  ?  Let  experience  solve  it.  To  listen  to  mere  speculation,  in 
such  a  case,  were  criminal.  We  are  authorized  to  hope,  that  a  proper  or 
ganization  of  the  whole,  with  the  auxiliary  agency  of  governments  for  the 
respective  subdivisions,  will  afford  a  happy  issue  to  the  experiment.  It 
is  well  worth  a  fair  and  full  experiment.  With  such  powerful  and  ob 
vious  motives  to  union  affecting  all  parts  of  our  country,  while  ex 
perience  shall  not  have  demonstrated  its  impracticability,  there  will  al 
ways  be  reason  to  distrust  the  patriotism  of  those  who,  in  any  quarter, 
may  endeavor  to  weaken  its  bands." 


INTRODUCTION 


The  American  people  had  secured  for  themselves  in  1787  a  written  con 
stitution  which  was,  as  Marshall  stated,  (Marbury  v.  Madison,  1  Cranch,  137) 
"deemed  the  greatest  improvement  on  political  institutions"  and  in  that  con 
stitution  fundamental  rights  were  guaranteed  and  provisions  made  against 
invasion  of  those  rights.  The  value  of  that  constitution  had  not  yet  come  to 
be  understood  by  the  American  people  as  a  whole.  It  is  true  that  it  embodied 
the  aspirations  and  highest  ideals  of  the  centuries,  and  yet  to  what  extent  it 
could  be  relied  on  to  protect  the  people  themselves  from  the  ever  changing  and 
fluctuating  popular  passions  was  not  understood.  To  many  the  argument  was 
that  the  constitution  furnished  simply  suggestions  and  recommendations  for 
the  conduct  of  legislative  bodies,  which  might  be  adopted,  observed  or  ignored; 
that  the  Congress  could  if  it  chose  so  to  do,  violate  the  most  solemn  compacts 
and  set  aside  the  most  sacred  guaranties;  and  that  the  Legislatures  of  the 
State  could  do  the  same  thing. 

There  was  then  as  there  always  will  be,  the  highest  impatience  exhibited 
when  the  courts  set  aside  and  declare  invalid  hasty  and  inconsiderate  legisla 
tion.  The  courts  themselves  were,  and  will  be,  brought  under  criticism.  And 
sometimes  have  shown  themselves  exceedingly  weak  in  such  criticisms,  and  at 
other  times,  they  have  exhibited  the  highest  courage. 

The  controlling  proposition  of  all  was  that  each  individual  was  possessed 
of  the  right  to  the  highest  liberty  for  the  use  of  his  brain  and  brawn,  that  could 
be  accorded  to  man,  and  the  only  restraints  thereon  were  those  that  were  made 
necessary  in  order  to  assure  to  others  a  like  liberty.  The  whole  scheme  of  gov 
ernment  rested  upon  this  underlying  thought.  The  guarantee  to  the  individual 
to  local  self  government  in  the  states,  the  guarantees  of  trials  by  juries,  liberty 
of  speech  and  the  press,  religious  freedom,  protection  of  private  property  from 
governmental  appropriation  without  compensation,  provisions  against  discrimina 
tory  legislation,  and  provisions  for  the  equality  or  rights — all  these  and  more 
were  established  to  make  safe  and  valuable  the  great  underlying  purpose.  Pro 
visions,  too,  were  made  for  the  entry  of  other  co-equal  states  into  the  union, 
which  would  be  Republican  in  form  and  substance.  This,  as  Wilson,  one  of  the 
framers  of  the  constitution  declared,  was  a  great  discovery  in  political  science. 
It  prepared  the  way  for  the  great  growth  by  states  of  the  American  Republic 


INTRODUCTION  xi 


and  in  that  growth  it  found  constantly  increasing  strength,  usefulness  and  power.. 

We  find  in  the  subject  of  these  memoirs  the  intellectual,  intimate  and  warm 
personal  friend  of  Story  and  Webster,  both  of  whom  looked  upon  him  as  one 
of  the  wisest,  greatest  and  most  unselfish  of  patriots.  They  all  profoundly 
believed  in  the  value  of  the  American  Constitution.  Story  became  its  great  com 
mentator,  and  the  other  two  its  great  defenders.  We  find  the  arguments  fur 
nished  for  the  sanctity  of  contracts  and  their  security  from  invasion  by  er 
ratic,  unjust  and  unfair  state  legislation,  furnished  in  the  first  instance  by  the 
other  two,  each  of  them  generously  giving  to  the  other  the  credit  for  doing 
the  superior  work;  and  after  the  lapse  of  many  years,  who  can  properly  appre 
ciate  the  value  of  Marshall's,  Story's  and  Washington's  opinions  in  the  Dart 
mouth  College  case?  Who  can,  in  view  of  their  subsequent  application  to  in 
numerable  cases,  Federal  and  State,  estimate  the  injury  that  would  have  probably 
resulted  to  public  and  private  credit  had  that  decision  been  the  reverse  of  what 
it  was  ? 

Out  of  this  case  necessarily  grew  the  proposition  that  the  charter  of  a 
private  corporation  is  a  three-fold  contract  protected  by  our  Supreme  law:  First, 
between  the  State  and  the  corporation;  second,  between  the  corporation  and  its 
stockholders;  and  third,  between  the  State  and  the  stockholders.  It  is  a  propo 
sition  so  universally  employed  that  its  origin  and  value  as  a  basic  legal  principle 
are  not  much  considered.  If  Jeremiah  Mason  had  done  naught  else  but  to  have 
contributed  to  this  legal  conclusion  he  would  be  entitled  to  our  lasting  gratitude. 

We  find  the  subject  of  this  life  early  advocating,  with  the  ability  possessed 
only  by  him,  the  necessity  of  preserving  that  division  of  our  political  magistracy 
created  between  the  Legislative,  Judicial  and  Executive  Departments,  he  con 
tending  that  it  was  distinctly  secured  in  our  form  of  government  and  necessary 
for  its  safety.  This  was  not  fully  understood  in  Colonial  times,  and  not  generally 
in  our  early  constitutional  history 

These  men,  Story,  Webster  and  Mason  each  and  all  born  in  restricted  sur 
roundings,  illustrated  in  their  lives  that  when  nature  had  richly  endowed  men, 
the  fullest  liberty  for  the  exercise  of  such  endowments  should  be  furnished  by 
our  governmental  institutions;  that  society,  itself,  could  not  otherwise  obtain 

what  was  best  for  itself. 
—1 


xii  INTRODUCTION 


The  philosophy  of  our  governmental  institutions  necessarily  is  that  no  in 
dividual  can  in  the  affairs  of  life  succeed  without  benefiting  his  fellowmen.  If 
a  man  is  a  great  artist,  poet,  writer,  educator,  surgeon,  physician,  inventor,  or 
scientist,  his  work  must  result  for  the  benefit  of  humanity.  If  a  man  is  a  suc 
cessful  farmer,  it  is  because  he  cultivates  his  fields  intelligently,  for  the  benefit 
of  his  fellowmen,  who  will  consume  what  they  bring  forth.  If  he  is  a  successful 
manufacturer  and  establishes  great  industries,  he  does  it  only  because  he  man 
ufactures  something  the  public  highly  needs.  If  a  successful  merchant,  he  buys 
wisely  and  sells  better  goods  at  a  more  satisfactory  price  to  his  patrons — goods 
needed  to  satisfy  the  wants  or  tastes  of  the  people.  If  a  railroad  is  built,  a  gas 
or  electric  light  plant  is  established,  or  telephone  or  telegraph  lines  are  con 
structed  across  the  country,  or  ships  are  built  to  navigate  our  lakes  or  seas,  or 
boats,  our  rivers,  all  by  private  enterprise,  it  is  because  there  is  need  for  them, 
and  the  public  is  benefited  by  them.  If  great  financial  institutions  arise,  they 
are  based  upon  the  prosperity  of  our  country  and  are  a  necessary  part  of  its 
growth.  It  follows,  that  every  kind  of  work,  business  enterprise,  profession  and 
pursuit,  is  administered  to  meet  a  public  want,  and  if  that  want  does  not  exist, 
in  any  of  these  things,  there  can  be  no  success  in  it.  It  follows,  then,  that  in 
the  final  analysis,  all  that  society  gets  for  its  own  uses  and  benefit,  it  gets  almost 
wholly  through  the  private  administration  of  private  affairs  for  the  social  good. 
It  follows,  too,  that  the  individual  who  honestly  works  with  the  greatest  industry 
and  who  brings  to  that  work  the  highest  intelligence,  or  even  genius  in  the  end, 
is  performing  the  highest  and  best  work  for  society  as  its  chief  beneficiary. 

When  a  man  by  nature  has  been  given  great  talents,  when  through  those 
talents  he  has  overcome  the  difficulties  which  poverty  threw  around  his  early 
career,  when  he  has  used  those  talents  in  a  learned  profession,  and  by  them  has 
ennobled  it,  when  he  was  so  fortunate  as  to  have  lived  during  a  constructive 
period  of  American  History,  and  when  he  could  exert  upon  courts,  senates,  leg 
islatures  and  the  people  broad,  patriotic  and  profound  views  of  government,  and 
when  he  exhibited,  in  all  that  he  did  and  said,  a  thorough  belief  in  our  political 
structure,  and  could  defend  it  and  spread  its  value  among  every  class  as  only 
a  few  of  his  day  had  the  ability  to  do,  it  is  well  to  turn  to  his  life  and  hold  it  up 
to  public  view. 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 


The  country  owes  much  to  Jeremiah  Mason,  and  a  generous  and  gracious 
task  is  performed  by  Mr.  Clark,  when  new  attention  is  called  by  him  to  his  worthy 
and  useful  life. 

Kansas  City,  Mo.,  Dec.  14,  1917. 

OLIVER  H.  DEAN. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

Page 
Autobiography 1 

CHAPTER   II. 

Remarks  on  the  Autobiography. — Mr.  Mason's  removal  to  Portsmouth. — His 
Marriage. — His  Professional  Success. — Appointed  Attorney  General  of  New 
Hampshire. — Friendship  with  Mr.  Webster. — Mr.  Lord's  Reminiscences.  .  37 

CHAPTER  III. 

Letter  to  Dr.  Jesse  Appleton. — Politics  of  New  Hampshire. — Mr.  Mason 
chosen  United  States  Senator. — Residence  in  Washington  during  the  First 
and  Second  Sessions  of  the  Thirteenth  Congress. — Letters  to  Mrs.  Jere 
miah  Mason  and  to  Dr.  Jesse  Appleton.  .......  46 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Letter  from  Mr.  Christopher  Gore. — Letter  to  Mr.  Rufus  King. — Mr.  Mason's 
Congressional  Life  till  the  Close  of  the  Fourteenth  Congress. — Domestic 
Correspondence. — Correspondence  with  Dr.  Jesse  Appleton,  Rufus  King, 
and  Christopher  Gore. — Mr.  Mason  declines  the  Office  of  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Superior  Court  of  New  Hampshire. 117 

CHAPTER  V. 

Mr.  Mason  resigns  his  Seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. — Letters  to 
Christopher  Gore  and  Rufus  King,  informing  them  of  the  Fact,  and  their 
Replies. — 'Letter  to  Dr.  Jesse  Appleton  on  the  same  Subject. — Portsmouth 
in  the  Early  Part  of  the  Century. — Mr.  Mason's  Professional  and  Domestic 


CONTENTS  xv 


Life. — The  Dartmouth  College  Case. — Correspondence  to  the  Close  of  the 
Year  1818  with  Christopher  Gore,  Rufus  King,  David  Daggett,  and  Judge 
Joseph  Story.  150 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Correspondence  during  the  Years  1819  and  1820. — Letters  to  and  from  Rufus 
King,  Christopher  Gore,  Daniel  Webster,  Dr.  Jesse  Appleton,  and  Judge 
Joseph  Story. — Mr.  Mason  a  Member  of  the  New  Hampshire  House  of 
Representatives  in  1820. — Report  and  Resolutions  upon  certain  Resolutions 
of  the  State  of  Virginia  upon  the  admission  of  Missouri,  sent  to  the  Gov 
ernor  of  New  Hampshire.  .......  .  204 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Correspondence  to  the  Close  of  1824. — Letters  to  and  from  Rufus  King, 
Christopher  Gore,  Judge  Joseph  Story,  and  Daniel  Webster. — Mr.  Mason, 
in  1824,  a  Candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate. — Causes  of  his  Defeat.  251 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Mr.  Mason's  Life  and  Correspondence  from  the  Close  of  1824  till  his  Removal 
to  Boston  in  1832. — Death  of  his  son  Alfred. — Chosen  President  of  the 
Branch  Bank  of  the  United  States,  at  Portsmouth. — His  Policy  in  Manag 
ing  its  Business. — Opposition  awakened  by  his  Course. — Successful  De 
fense  against  the  Charges  brought  against  him 291 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Mr.  Mason's  Life  and  Correspondence,  from  his  Removal  to  Boston  in  1832 
till  his  Death. — Professional  and  Social  Life  in  Boston. — Death  of  his  son 
James. — Retirement  from  Active  Professional  Labor. — Declining  Years. — 
Death  and  Character.  333 

APPENDIX. 

Proceedings  in  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  on  the  Death  of  the 
Honorable  Jeremiah  Mason.  387 

INDEX. 

Complete  Index. — Synopsis  of  Main  Events  in  Jeremiah  Mason's  Career, — 
under  "M,"  in  Index .  477 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 

Abbott,  Lawrence 194 

Adams,  John  Quincy 354 

Ames,   Fisher 322 

Appleton,  Rev.  Jesse 98 

Bartlett,   Ichabod 194 

Binney,  Horace 194 

Burr,   Aaron 34 

Calhoun,  John  C 194 

Choate,   Ruf us 354 

Clay,  Henry 258 

Coleman,  William 354 

Crawford,  William  H 258 

Daggett,  David 354 

Dennie,  Joseph 258 

Dexter,  Samuel 258 

Everett,    Edward 194 

Gore,    Christopher 322 

Hamilton,  Alexander 258 

Hoar,  E.  Rockwell 354 

Jackson,   Andrew .   194 

Jefferson,   Thomas 306 

Kent,   James 322 

King,   Rufus 306 

Lee,   Henry 322 

Livingston,  Robt.  R 146 

Madison,    Dolly 210 

Madison,   James 194 


Page 

Marshall,   John 114 

Mason,  Jeremiah  (aged) .  .  . 

Frontispiece 

Mason,  Jeremiah,  (young) .   274 

Mason,  Mrs.  Jeremiah 290 

Parsons,   Theophilus 258 

Peabody,  George 306 

Pickering,   Timothy 258 

Pinckney,     Charles     Cotes- 
worth    242 

Pinkney,  William 306 

Randolph,  John 194 

Shaw,  Lemuel 18 

Sherman,  Roger 306 

Smith,  Jeremiah 322 

Story,    Joseph 258 

Sumner,  Charles 306 

Ticknor,   George 354 

Tompkins,  Daniel  D 322 

Trumbull,  Jonathan 322 

Van  Buren,  Martin 354 

Washington,   Bushrod 322 

Washington,    George 354 

Webster,   Daniel 66 

Wirt,  William 306 

Woodbury,   Levi 306 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


CHAPTER  I. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

ON  this  twenty-seventh  day  of  April,  1844,  being  my  seventy-sixth 
birthday,  I  sit  down  to  call  to  recollection  and  narrate  some  of 
the  incidents  of  my  life.  I  am  fully  aware  that  I  can  state  nothing  in 
any  degree  useful  or  interesting  to  the  public.  My  life  has  been  spent 
almost  wholly  in  the  labors  and  duties  of  my  profession,  and  like  that 
of  most  other  lawyers,  furnishes  little  or  nothing  of  public  interest. 
Why  then  do  I  make  these  idle  notes  ?  I  do  it  in  compliance  with  the . 
urgent  and  reiterated  request  of  my  children.  To  them  the  most  or 
dinary  events  relating  to  me  may  seem  to  be  interesting ;  and  although 
I  have  myself  acted  no  important  part,  I  have  lived  during  one  of  the 
most  extraordinary  periods  of  the  world.  I  have  been  sometimes 
brought  in  contact  with  some  of  the  most  celebrated  men  of  our  coun 
try  ;  of  some  of  these  I  may  occasionally  speak. 

I  have  always  supposed  that  I  was  descended  from  John  Mason, 
a  captain  in  Oliver  Cromwell's  army,  who  came  out  from  England 
to  Dorchester  in  Massachusetts,  and  soon  removed  to  Windsor,  in 
Connecticut,  with  the  first  settlers  in  that  colony,  and  was  greatly 
distinguished  in  the  early  wars  with  the  Pequod  and  Narragansett 
Indians.  But  I  am  not  able  to  trace  my  pedigree  up  to  him.  My  great 
grandfather  lived  in  the  town  -of  Haddam,  in  Connecticut,  and  died 
young,  leaving  two  children,  Jeremiah,  my  grandfather,  (1)  and  a 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


daughter.  His  relation  to  John  Mason  I  have  not  been  able  to  as 
certain. 

My  grandfather  was  born  in  the  year  1705,  and  died  in  1779.  I 
well  remember  being  at  his  funeral.a  He  lived  in  that  part  of  the 
town  of  Norwich  which  now  constitutes  the  town  of  Franklin,  on 
the  farm  which  my  father  by  his  will  gave  me.  He  was  much 
respected,  and  somewhat  distinguished  by  his  strict  observance  of 
religious  duties.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the  Congregational  Church. 

My  maternal  grandfather  was  James  Fitch,  a  grandson  of  James 
Fi-tch,  a  learned  divine,  who  came  from  England  and  was  settled  as 
a  minister  at  Sayorook,  in  Connecticut,  and  afterwards  in  Norwich, 
and  died  at  Lebanon;  in  the  burying  ground  of  which  place  I  have 
seen  his  epitaph  in  Latin,  which  represents  him  as  having  been  a 
man  celebrated  for  his  learning  and  piety.  My  grandfather  was 
born  in  1703,  and  died  in  1789.  His  father  also  died  while  young. 
He  inherited  from  his  grandfather  a  large  tract  of  land  in  the 
parish  of  Goshen,  in  the  town  of  Lebanon,  which  he  obtained  by  a 
grant  from  the  Indians.  He  had  two  children,  my  mother,  Eliza 
beth,  and  Ann.  He  built  a  dwelling-house  on  the  aforesaid  tract  of 
land  while  in  a  wild  state,  and  brought  a  large  farm  under  cultiva 
tion.  This,  when  they  were  married,  he  divided  between  his 
daughters,  and  retired  himself  on  to  a  small  farm  which  my  father 
purchased  for  him.  With  a  quite  ordinary  education  he  had  a 
sound  and  vigorous  understanding.  For  many  years  he  was  asso 
ciated  with  the  elder  Governor  Trumbull  in  representing  the  town 
of  Lebanon  in  the  General  Court  in  the  colony  of  Connecticut. 

My  father,  Jeremiah  Mason,  was  born  in  the  year  1730,  and  died 
in  1813;  my  mother  was  born  in  1732,  and  died  in  1809. 

The  aggregate  of  the  ages  of  my  six  immediate  ancestors 
amounts  to  four  hundred  and  ninety-nine  years  five  months  and 
five  days,  averaging  more  than  eighty-three  years  to  each. 

My  father,  soon  after  his  marriage,  removed  on  to  the  large  farm 
given  to  my  mother  by  her  father,  where  I  and  all  his  other  children 
were  born.  The  title  to  this  farm,  derived  by  grant  to  my  mother's 

(2) 
a  Mason  was  then  11  years  old. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


great-grandfather  from  Uncas,  the  Indian  sachem  of  that  region,  has 
never  been  alienated  out  of  the  family,  and  is  now  owned  by  my 
nephew,  Jeremiah  Mason,  son  of  my  eldest  brother  James. 

My  father  had  nine  children,  of  whom  I  was  the  sixth.  One  died 
in  infancy,  the  rest  lived  to  mature  age,  were  married,  and  had  fam 
ilies.  In  my  old  family  Bible  I  have  stated  their  births,  marriages, 
children,  etc.  Two  sisters  only  survive,  both  older  than  myself. 

My  father  was  of  a  good  figure,  a  little  above  six  feet  in  height, 
rather  slender,  with  a  pleasant  countenance  and  ardent  tempera 
ment.  He  was  easily  irritated  and  as  easily  appeased.  He  had  a 
quick  apprehension  with  a  sound  judgment,  was  exceedingly  active, 
industrious,  and  persevering  in  matters  of  business,  whereby  he 
acquired  a  large  property  for  a  man  in  his  situation.  He  had  a 
good  common-school  education ;  acted  as  a  magistrate  for  a  long 
period,  and  was  much  resorted  to  by  the  people  of  his  neighbor 
hood  for  drawing  deeds  and  other  legal  instruments. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  being  a 
staunch  Whig,  he  raised  and  commanded  a  company  of  minute 
men  (as  they  were  called),  with  which  he  performed  a  tour  of  duty 
at  the  siege  of  Boston,  and  was  with  the  party  that  was  sent  out  in 
the  early  part  of  the  night  to  fortify  Dorchester  Heights.  I  have 
often  heard  him  say  that  he  never  worked  himself,  nor  saw  men 
work  with  such  ardor  and  effect  for  so  many  hours  in  succession  as 
on  that  occasion. 

The  next  autumn  (1776),  having  been  promoted  to  a  colonelcy, 
he  went  out  in  command  of  a  militia  regiment  and  joined  the  army 
in  the  vicinity  of  New  York.  At  the  end  of  this  harassing  and  un 
fortunate  campaign,  he  came  home  sick.  He  continued  in  the  com 
mand  of  the  regiment  till  after  the  close  of  the  war.  When  General 
Arnold  assaulted  and  burnt  New  London,  he  rallied  and  brought  out 
his  regiment  with  very  commendable  speed,  which,  although  no  im 
portant  service  was  rendered,  gained  him  credit,  and  was  said  to  be 
the  cause  of  his  being  appointed  to  the  command  of  Fort  Trumbull,  at 
the  mouth  of  New  London  harbor.  This  he  (3)  retained  for  a  few 
months  only,  till  the  excitement  occasioned  by  the  attack  passed  away. 
He  had,  or  thought  he  had,  a  taste  for  military  life.  I  have  heard  him 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


express  his  regret  that  he  had  not  early  in  the  war  entered  the  Con 
tinental  army. 

He  was  a  good  man,  affectionate  to  his  family,  kind  and  obliging 
to  his  neighbors,  and  faithful  and  strict  in  the  observance  of  all  moral 
and  religious  duties. 

My  mother  was  a  woman  of  fine  natural  understanding ;  of  good 
appearance,  but  plain  in  manners  and  discreet  in  conduct.  Her 
reading  was  confined  mostly  to  books  of  devotion,  and  she  had  little 
concern  with  artificial  accomplishments.  Her  great  value  consisted 
in  the  purity  of  her  heart  and  affections  under  the  guidance  of 
native  discretion.  Kindness  and  benevolence  were  instinctive  with 
her ;  she  seemed  never  to  fall  under  the  influence  of  any  angry  or 
malevolent  passions ;  she  was  kind  to  all  who  approached  her,  or 
came  within  the  sphere  of  her  influence,  and  this  was  followed  by 
its  natural  consequence.  I  doubt  if  there  was  a  person  in  the  world 
that  owed  her  ill-will,  or  felt  an  inclination  to  do  her  injury.  With  all 
this  superabundant  kindness  she  was  very  efficient  in  the  manage 
ment  of  her  large  household,  and  in  the  performance  of  all  her 
duties.  I  think  she  must  have  had  a  considerable  degree  of  fancy 
and  natural  taste,  as  she  used  always  to  draw  the  patterns  on  sam 
plers  for  my  sisters'  ornamental  needle-work,  in  which  they  became 
somewhat  accomplished.  She  was  anxiously  desirous  to  give  all 
her  children  the  best  education  in  her  power,  and  it  was  owing 
much  to  her  influence  with  my  father,  that  I  was  enabled  to  obtain 
a  collegiate  education.  She  was  ardently  pious,  and  much  devoted 
to  the  duties  of  religion.  In  my  recollection  she  is  a  personifica 
tion  of  love,  kindness,  and  benevolence.  I  venerate  and  love  her 
memory. 

The  earliest  distinct  recollection  of  my  childhood  is  the  alarm  of 
the  Battle  of  Lexington  in  the  spring  of  1775,  when  I  was  seven 
years  old.  In  the  early  part  of  the  evening  a  horseman  called  at 
the  door  and  left  a  written  notice  of  the  alarming  intelligence,  and  (4) 
hastily  passed  on  his  way.  The  whole  family  was  instantly  in  com- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


motion.  Messages  were  instantly  dispatched  to  the  minute  men  to 
meet  as  quick  as  possible  at  their  company  rendezvous  equipped 
and  ready  to  start  for  the  battle.  My  father  soon  departed,  after 
taking  a  most  affectionate  leave  of  my  mother  and  the  children, 
leaving  us  all  in  an  agony  of  tears.  For  as  he  was  going  to  fight 
the  regulars  (as  the  British  troops  were  called) ,  we  naturally  supposed 
the  matter  was  to  be  fought  out  at  once,  and  that  there  was  an  even 
chance  that  he  might  never  return.  After  two  days  of  extreme 
distress,  news  came  that  the  British  had  retreated  into  Boston  and 
that  our  minute  men  were  met  on  their  way  and  turned  back ;  we 
were  consoled  by  the  knowledge  that  our  dear  father  was  safe,  and 
also  by  the  belief  that  the  war  was  over. 

Latterly  in  my  old  age  the  events  of  my  childhood  seem  to 
recur  to  my  memory  more  freshly  than  they  did  in  the  middle 
period  of  my  life.  The  reason  may  be  that  I  am  now  more  in  the 
habit  of  trying  to  recall  them. 

My  father  lived  in  a  retired  situation  with  no  near  neighbors, 
and  only  a  few  within  two  miles,  and  those  of  an  ordinary  cast,  with 
whom  our  family  kept  up  but  little  intimacy.  For  amusements  we 
were  left  mostly  to  our  own  resources.  The  most  serious  incon 
venience  attending  this  seclusion,  was  the  want  of  a  good  school. 
There  was  no  school-house  within  the  district,  and  when  a  school 
was  kept  at  all,  which  was  during  a  small  portion  of  the  time,  it 
was  in  an  apartment  of  some  dwelling-house.  Till  after  the  age  of 
fourteen,  I  think,  I  never  attended  school  but  three  winters,  and  not 
longer  than  three  months  each  winter;  both  the  instructors  and 
pupils  must,  of  course,  have  been  very  ordinary.  Considerable 
pains  were  taken  in  the  family  to  instruct  the  children  in  the  rudi 
ments  of  reading,  spelling,  and  writing,  by  having  the  elder  instruct 
the  younger.  Most,  if  not  all,  the  children  were  sent  from  home 
for  short  periods  to  better  schools ;  by  this  means  the  elder  children 
became,  in  some  degree,  competent  to  instruct  the  younger.  No  set 
times  for  study  and  instruction  were  fixed  on,  but  the  instruction  (5) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


was  given  when  it  might  happen  to  be  convenient,  and,  of  course, 
was  of  little  value.  My  mother  was  careful  to  have  us  well  drilled  in 
the  Westminster  Catechism,  which  was  faithfully  committed  to 
memory,  and  Mr.  Stowe,  our  parish  minister,  came  regularly  once  a 
year  and  examined  us. 

As  soon  as  I  had  sufficient  strength  I  was  kept  industriously  at 
work  on  the  farm,  like  other  farmers'  boys,  till  I  had  advanced  half 
way  through  my  fourteenth  year.  I  had  no  special  liking  for  hard 
work,  and  often  importuned  my  father  to  let  me  go  off  to  school. 
He  always  replied  that  he  intended  I  should  go,  and  that  I  should 
go  soon.  My  elder  brother,  James  Fitch,  at  the  urgent  request  of 
my  mother's  father,  whose  name  he  bore,  had  been  sent  to  school 
with  intent  that  he  should  prepare  for  college,  but  on  attempting 
the  study  of  the  dead  languages  he  took  a  strong  dislike  to  it  and 
abandoned  it.  At  length  my  father,  tired  with  my  reiterated  im 
portunity  which  was  always  enforced  by  the  advice  of  my  mother, 
consented  that  I  should  go  to  school ;  accordingly,  late  in  the  fall 
of  1782,  my  father  applied  to  Master  Tisdale  to  receive  me  in  his 
school  in  the  old  parish  of  Lebanon,  about  six  miles  from  our 
house,  which  I  entered.  I  boarded  with  my  sister,  Mrs.  Fitch,  who 
lived  near  a  mile  from  the  school ;  but  that  was  considered  to  be  no 
objection,  and  it  truly  was  not.  Many  of  the  scholars  lived  at 
greater  distances.  Master  Tisdale's  school  had  acquired  a  good 
deal  of  celebrity,  and  was  attended  by  scholars  from  a  distance. 
He  graduated  at  Cambridge,  was  a  good  scholar,  and  had  kept  the 
school,  I  believe,  forty  years,  and  had  become  quite  aged,  and  was, 
probably,  less  efficient  than  he  had  been.  He  was,  however,  still  a 
very  competent  instructor  and  worthy  man,  and  I  have  always 
retained  a  grateful  regard  for  his  memory.  The  school-house  was 
a  capacious  brick  building,  planned  and  erected  under  the  auspices 
of  the  elder  Governor  Trumbull,  and  furnished  excellent  accommo 
dations.  When  there  lately  I  was  both  grieved  and  mortified  to  see 
that  the  modern  degenerate  proprietors  had  torn  down  the  venerable 
old  building  and  substituted  in  its  place  a  flimsy  wooden  erection.  (6) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


I  recollect  with  gratitude  the  kindness  and  affectionate  treatment 
of  my  sister  Fitch  while  I  lived  with  her.  She  was  a  woman  of 
excellent  understanding,  in  temperament  and  disposition  much  like 
my  mother,  and  gave  me  much  good  advice. 

I  was  very  backward  for  my  age  in  all  school  learning,  I  read 
but  poorly  and  spelt  worse;  my  handwriting  was  bad,  and  in  arith 
metic  I  knew  very  little.  I  have  always  regretted  the  loss  of  the 
time  spent  at  work  on  the  farm  at  home.  Had  I  been  placed  at 
school  six  or  eight  years  earlier,  it  would  probably  have  been  of 
advantage  to  me.  I  was  aware  of  my  deficiency  and  went  to  study 
ing  with  good  resolution  and  diligence.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
months  I  commenced  the  study  of  the  Latin,  and  soon  after  that  of 
the  Greek  language.  In  less  than  two  years  I  was  declared  by 
Master  Tisdale  to  be  fitted  for  college.1 

In  the  autumn  of  1784,  I  was  examined  and  admitted  to  the 
Freshman  class  in  Yale  College.  The  requirements  for  admission 
to  that  college  were  then  very  low.  In  Latin  the  examination  was 
confined  to  a  part  of  Virgil  and  a  part  of  Cicero's  Select  Orations; 

1  The  First  Parish  in  Lebanon,  as  that  was  called  in  which  Mr.  Tisdale's 
school  was  located,  was  greatly  distinguished  by  a  strict  and  rigid  observance  of 
the  prescribed  religious  duties.  They  were  of  the  Calvinistic  Puritan  school,  of 
the  highest  order.  The  elder  Governor  Trumbull,  then  governor  of  the  State,  was 
the  chief  ruler  of  the  synagogue.  He  was  a  venerable  man,  with  the  reputation 
of  much  learning.  He  had  for  assistants  his  son-in-law,  Colonel  William  Wil 
liams,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  declaration  of  Independence,  his  son,  the  late 
governor,  and  three  or  four  others  who  claimed  pre-eminence  from  their  collegiate 
educations.  The  parish  had  been  subjected  for  a  long  period  to  a  rigid  theocratic 
government.  The  Sabbath  commenced  at  the  setting  of  the  sun  on  Saturday  and 
ended  at  sunset  on  Sunday.  The  Sabbath  was  a  day  of  solemn  gravity,  on  which 
the  children  were  strictly  forbidden  to  laugh.  Much  difficulty  had  been  exper 
ienced  in  finding  a  suitable  successor  to  their  late  minister,  Dr.  Williams,  who 
had  occupied  their  pulpit  nearly  fifty  years.  They  had  numerous  candidates  on 
trial;  but  the  whole  parish,  men  and  women,  had  become  critically  learned 
theologians,  and  none  could  pass  the  scrutiny,  till  at  length  a  Mr.  Ely  (the  late 
Dr.  Ely)  was  adroit  enough  to  unite  all  their  suffrages.  Great  preparations 
were  made  for  his  ordination.  Some  dozen  of  us  school-boys  planned  a  dance  for 
the  evening,  engaged  a  negro  fiddler  and  an  equal  number  of  pretty  girls  to  join 
us.  We  were  in  high  spirits,  anticipating  the  pleasure  of  a  fine  frolic,  when  to 
our  consternation,  at  the  close  of  the  ordination  service,  up  rose  Colonel  Wil 
liams,  and,  after  proclamation  for  silence,  with  a  loud  voice  read  an  order  of  the 
civil  authority  of  the  town  forbidding  all  fiddling,  dancing,  and  other  like  carnal 
recreations  on  that  day,  and  enjoining  all  persons  to  keep  the  day  with  the  re 
ligious  observances  proper  for  the  Sabbath.  This  at  once  put  an  end  to  all  our 
notions  of  frolicking.  Nobody  doubted  or  thought  of  questioning  the  right  of  the 
civil  authorities  to  make  the  order. 

(7) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


in  Greek,  to  the  Evangelists.  My  attainments,  though  slender,  were 
equal  or  superior  to  that  of  a  majority  of  my  class.  At  that  time 
the  instruction  of  each  of  the  three  junior  classes  in  all  branches, 
was  confided  exclusively  to  its  own  tutor.  The  Sophomore  class 
being  very  large,  was  divided  and  had  two  tutors.  The  president 
had  charge  of  the  Senior  class.  There  was  a  professor  of  divinity 
whose  duty  was  confined  to  preaching  on  Sundays,  and  who  had 
nothing  to  do  with  class  instruction.  The  tutors  were  usually  young 
men  who  had  been  out  of  college  only  one  or  two  years,  and  re 
tained  their  places  for  short  periods  only.  The  college  was  almost  en 
tirely  destitute  of  funds  and  unable  to  employ  competent  professors. 
The  whole  income  from  the  endowment  was  no  more  than  sufficient  to 
pay  the  small  salaries  of  the  president  and  professor  of  divinity.  The 
tutors'  salaries  and  all  other  expenses,  were  to  be  indemnified  by  tui 
tion  fees  and  the  rent  of  rooms  in  a  small  college  building.  Yet  with 
such  slender  means  of  instruction,  a  good  degree  of  hard  study  was  en 
forced.  President  Stiles  had  excellent  talents  for  government;  was 
both  loved  and  respected,  and  maintained  a  sound  discipline;  a  boy 
that  would  not  study  had  an  uncomfortable  time  of  it. 

As  usual  I  had  been  examined  and  was  admitted  at  the  time  of 
Commencement,  and  at  the  end  of  the  ensuing  vacation  I  returned  to 
New  Haven  to  join  my  class.  I  arrived  the  afternoon  of  the  first  day 
of  the  term,  and  having  put  up  my  horse  and  engaged  lodgings  for  the 
night,  I,  towards  evening,  went  up  to  the  college  to  see  the  splendor  of 
my  future  residence.  While  standing  in  the  college  yard  (as  the  in- 
closure  was  called),  a  man  booted  and  with  a  horsewhip  in  hand,  ap 
proached  me  and  asked  if  I  was  a  Freshman.  I  answered,  "Yes,  sir." 
"Take  off  your  hat,  then,  when  in  the  presence  of  one  of  the  govern 
ment  of  the  college."  He  added,  "Go  and  ring  the  bell  for  prayers," 
and  passed  into  the  college  building.  I  was  confused  by  this  harshness 
and  went  immediately  to  what  I  supposed  to  be  the  chapel.  The  door 
of  the  belfry  was  open,  but  on  entering  I  could  find  no  bell  rope.  I 
looked  into  the  chapel,  (8)  nobody  was  there;  after  looking  again  for 
the  bell  rope  and  finding  none,  and  feeling  a  little  indignant  at  the  rude 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


treatment  I  had  received,  I  left  the  chapel  and  returned  to  my  inn. 
There  I  found  several  of  my  classmates,  with  whom  I  soon  became  ac 
quainted.  I  told  them  the  story  of  the  treatment  I  had  received  and  of 
my  apprehension  of  trouble  from  my  disobedience  of  orders ;  this  led  to 
an  ardent  discussion  of  the  demerits  of  the  fagging  servitude  to  which, 
by  the  ancient  college  regulations,  the  Freshmen  were  subjected.  By 
the  college  laws  the  Freshmen  were  placed  in  what  was  deemed  an 
improper  subjection  to  the  members  of  the  other  classes.  The  su 
periors  had  the  right  of  requiring  of  the  Freshmen  certain  menial 
services,  such  as  sending  them  on  errands  to  any  parts  of  the  town, 
bringing  water  from  the  pump  at  all  times,  except  during  study 
hours  and  college  exercises.  They  had  also  the  right  of  requiring 
the  attendance  of  the  Freshmen  at  their  rooms  to  be  there  instructed 
in  the  rules  and  practice  of  good  manners.  Whatever  might  have 
been  the  original  object  and  effect  of  this  practice,  it  had  now  fallen 
under  much  odium,  and  was  exercised  mostly  by  the  young  Sopho 
mores  for  the  purpose  of  vexation.  We  were  unanimous  in  its  con 
demnation  as  tyrannical  and  degrading. 

The  next  morning  I  attended  prayers  at  the  chapel,  after  which  all 
my  classmates  that  were  present  were  directed  to  repair  to  a  certain 
room  in  college,  where  we  were  met  by  Mr.  Perkins,  our  tutor,  who  ex 
plained  to  us  the  college  regulations,  and  assigned  rooms  in  the  lower 
story  of  the  college  building  to  such  as  desired  them.  On  passing 
through  the  yard  I  was  met  by  the  same  person  I  had  seen  the  day  be 
fore,  who  immediately  recognized  me  and  ordered  me  to  come  to  his 
room,  which  he  pointed  out.  I  had  before  found  out  that  he  was  Mr. 
Tutor  Channing.  He,  in  a  harsh  manner,  took  me  to  task  for  dis 
obedience  of  his  orders  in  not  ringing  the  bell.  I  plead  inability  by  rea 
son  of  there  being  no  bell-rope.  He  disallowed  my  excuse,  saying  that 
the  rope  was  drawn  up  into  the  second  story  of  the  belfry ;  that  I  could 
have  found  it  easily  enough  if  I  had  tried.  After  giving  me  a  severe 
reprimand,  he  (9)  excused  me  from  further  punishment  in  considera 
tion  of  my  ignorance  of  his  dignity  and  of  college  laws,  and  dismissed 
me  with  a  strong  caution  to  look  out  for  the  future.  Alarmed  by ' 
having  fallen  so  soon  under  ill  opinion  by  the  Government  I  went  im 
mediately  to  my  father,  who  was  then  in  New  Haven  attending  a  ses 
sion  of  the  Legislature,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and  explained  to 


10  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


him  my  grievances  and  apprehensions.  He  was  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Talcott  Russell,  the  senior  tutor,  and  arranged  with  him  to  receive 
me  into  his  room  as  his  Freshman.  This  exempted  me  from  the  lia 
bility  of  being  fagged  by  the  members  of  the  higher  classes.  For  the 
privilege,  I  was  at  the  expense  of  partly  furnishing  the  tutor's  room, 
and  did  such  errands  and  services  as  he  required.  He  allowed  me  a 
closet  for  my  study.  He  was  a  gentlemanly  and  kind  man,  and  I  lived 
with  him  the  year  pleasantly.  Mr.  Tutor  Channing  always  seemed  to 
look  on  me  with  an  evil  eye,  but  I  had  no  further  difficulty  with  him. 
At  the  end  of  the  year  he  left,  with  which  I  was  well  pleased. 

During  my  college  life  I  was  regular  in  my  conduct,  getting  into 
no  scrapes  and  tolerably  diligent  in  my  studies,  especially  in  my 
Junior  year,  when  I  studied  rather  severely  —  quite  as  much  so  as  my 
health  would  bear.  I  had  a  good  standing  with  the  president  and 
tutors.  In  my  Senior  year  I  was  one  of  the  monitors  in  the  chapel. 
My  chum  for  the  second  and  third  year  was  Daniel  Waldo,  my  senior 
by  several  years.  He  was  a  hard  student;  and  without  great  faculty 
for  acquisition,  by  dint  of  study  became  a  good  scholar.  He  was  a 
very  correct  and  worthy  man,  and  I  have  always  deemed  myself 
fortunate  in  having  him  for  a  chum.  He  afterwards  became  a  Con 
gregational  clergyman,  and  is,  I  believe,  still  living. 

I  passed  through  college  with  good  success;  my  standing  in  my 
class  was  among  the  first.  In  Latin  and  mathematics  I  was  inferior 
to  none,  and  deeply  regret  my  subsequent  neglect  of  those  studies. 
In  Greek  I  pretty  thoroughly  mastered  the  Greek  Testament,  the  only 
book  required  to  be  studied,  and  in  which  we  were  examined.  My  real 
knowledge  in  that  language  was  slender,  and  is  now  almost  (10) 
entirely  lost.  I  excelled  in  forensic  disputations,  of  which  considera 
ble  account  was  then  made  in  the  college.  My  greatest  deficiency 
was  in  the  English  language  which  I  impute  to  the  neglect  of  my 
early  school  education.  Almost  no  pains  were  taken  in  English  at 
the  college  at  that  time. 

My  class  was  under  the  instruction  of  Mr.  Perkins  the  two  firsta 
years.  He  was  a  good  scholar  and  rigid  disciplinarian,  and  kept  us 

a  "The  two  first"  is  a  sample  of  Mr.  Mason's  defective  English,  alluded  to  in 
the  preceding  paragraph.  Should  be  "the  first  two,"  as  there  cannot  be  "two 
firsts,"  as  the  one  must  be  "first,"  and  the  other  "second;"  but  there  can  be  a 
"first  two,"  i.  e.  the  first  and  second. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  1 1 


diligently  at  work.  The  third  year  Mr.  Fitch,  afterwards  President 
of  Williamstown  College,  was  our  tutor.  He  was  a  very  amiable  man, 
but  less  efficient  as  an  instructor  than  Mr.  Perkins. 

During  our  Senior  year  the  President  took  the  whole  charge  of  our 
instruction.  Ethics  constituted  our  chief  class  study,  and  Locke's 
treatise  our  only  text-book.  Some  attention  was  paid  to  a  general  re 
view  of  our  previous  college  studies  and  the  President  insisted  that 
the  whole  class  should  undertake  the  study  of  Hebrew.  We  learned  the 
alphabet,  and  worried  through  two  or  three  Psalms,  after  a  fashion ; 
with  most  of  us  it  was  mere  pretense.  The  President  had  the  reputa 
tion  of  being  very  learned  in  Hebrew,  as  well  as  several  other  Eastern 
dialects.  For  the  Hebrew  he  professed  a  high  veneration.  He  said  one 
of  the  Psalms  he  tried  to  teach  us  would  be  the  first  we  should  hear 
sung  in  heaven,  and  that  he  should  be  ashamed  that  any  of  his  pupils 
should  be  entirely  ignorant  of  that  holy  language. 

We  had  but  one  recitation  a  day,  and  the  prescribed  studies  took 
up  but  a  small  portion  of  our  time.  Those  inclined  to  study  were 
mostly  directed  by  their  own  inclinations.  I  unwisely  spent  a  con 
siderable  portion  of  my  time  in  the  elementary  books  of  the  law,  on 
which  profession  I  had  determined.1' 

President  Stiles'  chief  value  consisted  in  his  admirable  powers  of 
government.  His  time  must  have  been  so  taken  up  with  other  duties 
that  he  could  have  had  little  for  the  instruction  of  his  class.  Indeed, 
the  whole  ability  of  the  college  for  instruction  was,  at  that  time,  sad 
ly  defective.  The  college  Faculty,  however,  did  the  best  they  could. 
They  made  regulations  requiring  diligent  study,  which  (11)  they  en 
forced  by  faithful  and  rather  severe  examinations.  This  occasioned  a 
violent  rebellion  among  the  students,  which  was  quelled  by  the  expul 
sion  of  some  and  the  dismissal  of  others.  The  result  was  the  more 
firm  establishment  of  the  authority  of  the  Government. 

My  college  life,  on  the  whole,  passed  pleasantly  and  with  tolerable 
profit.  At  the  Commencement,  when  I  was  graduated  (1788), a  in  the 
public  exercises  a  part  in  the  forensic  disputation  was  assigned  to  me. 

b  Mr.  Madison,  it  seems,  believed  in  studying  along  the  line  of  his  life-work, 
even  while  in  college,  a  theory  frowned  upon  by  many  educators  and  even  by 
Mr.  Mason  as  he  here  says. 

a  In  1788,  when  Mason  graduated  at  Yale,  he  was  20  years  of  age,  having 
entered  college  at  the  age  of  16. 


12  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


My  classmate,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chapin,  was  my  opponent.  Our  question 
was,  whether  capital  punishment  was,  in  any  case,  lawful.  I  held  the 
negative.  I  stole  the  most  of  my  argument  from  the  treatise  of  the 
Marquis  Beccaria,  then  little  known  in  this  country.  It  was  new,  and 
consequently  well  received  by  the  audience ;  indeed,  its  novelty  excited 
considerable  notice.  I  was  flattered  and  much  gratified  by  being  told 
that  my  performance  was  the  best  of  the  day.  In  the  course  of  a  long 
and  active  life  I  recollect  no  occasion  when  I  have  experienced  such 
elevation  of  feelings. 

(  During  my  college  life  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  frequently  at 
tending  the  law  trials  in  New  Haven.  The  bar  contained  several 
talented  lawyers  and  popular  speakers,  of  whom  Pierpont  Edwards 
was  the  most  celebrated.  He  had  the  reputation  of  great  learning, 
which,  from  what  I  have  since  heard,  I  doubt  whether  he  deserved. 
But  he  was  certainly  very  fluent,  and,  I  thought,  eloquent.  The  trials 
were  all  conducted  in  a  manner  loose  and  highly  popular.  The  admira 
tion  excited  there  led  me  to  choose  the  law  for  my  profession?) 

Immediately  after  Commencement  I  explained  to  my  father  my 
inclination  for  studying  law.  He  had  attended  the  Commencement, 
and  I  knew  that  he  was  gratified  with  my  supposed  proficiency,  and  I 
expected  no  objection  to  my  proposal;  but  he  did  object,  assigning  as 
the  reason  the  great  expense  that  would  be  incurred,  and  suggested 
that  I  had  better  keep  school  for  a  time  or  go  to  studying  divinity 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Stone,  the  clergyman  of  our  parish.  I  did 
not  believe  that  he  really  wished  me  to  study  divinity,  (12)  for  which 
he  knew  I  had  no  inclination,  but  supposed  he  made  this  objection  to 
punish  me  for  spending  more  money  during  my  Senior  year  in  college 
than  he  deemed  necessary.  That  was  occasioned  mostly  by  my  pur 
chasing  that  year  more  expensive  articles  of  dress  than  in  former 
years.  My  clothes  had  before  been  furnished  almost  wholly  from  the 
domestic  manufactory  of  the  family,  which  my  kind  mother  had, 
with  great  pains,  provided  for  me,  and  which,  though  good  and  sub 
stantial,  I  thought  not  smart  enough.  If  my  father's  inclination  to 
enforce  rigid  economy  needed  any  apology,  it  might  be  found  in  the 
excessive  scarcity  of  money  and  the  extreme  poverty  of  the  whole 
country  at  that  period. 

Sanguinely  confident  in  my  ability  to  take  care  of  myself,  I  im- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  13 


mediately  determined  not  to  importune  my  father  for  further  sup 
plies,  -but  to  attempt  to  get  my  law  education  by  my  own  exertions. 

From  what  I  had  heard  at  New  Haven  I  got  the  notion  that  the 
State  of  New  York  was  the  best  place  within  my  reach  for  lawyers. 
My  good  grandfather  Fitch,  who  then  lived  with  my  father,  had 
given  me  a  small  sum  of  money ;  with  this  and  the  loan  of  his  horse 
I  started  on  a  journey  to  Albany,  literally  to  seek  my  fortune.  1  went 
by  way  of  Litchfield,'1  in  Connecticut,  where  I  met  with  several  of  my 
college  acquaintance  in  Judge  Reeve's  Law  School.  I  should  have 
been  delighted  to  have  joined  them,  but  being  unable  to  do  so  I  pro 
fessed  a  decided  preference  for  the  State  of  New  York,  to  which  I 
told  them  I  was  bound.  At  Great  Harrington  I  tarried  a  few  days 
with  my  Aunt  Whiting  and  her  interesting  family.  I  soon  contracted 
an  intimacy  with  Samuel,  the  eldest  son,  a  well  informed  and  worthy 
man,  who  died  many  years  ago;  with  him  I  consulted,  and  explained 
my  projects.  My  plan  was  to  support  myself  while  studying  law  at 
Albany,  by  instructing  a  small  school  or  class  of  boys  preparing  for 
college.  If  I  failed  in  making  such  arrangements,  I  thought  of  apply 
ing  to  Judge  Sedgwick  of  Stockbridge,  then  in  the  height  of  his  reputa 
tion  as  a  lawyer,  who  had  married  another  of  my  aunts  that  died  soon 
after  her  marriage.  My  cousin  told  me  that  a  violent  feud  had  long 
existed  between  his  (13)  father,  Judge  Whiting,  then  lately  deceased, 
and  Mr.  Sedgwick,  and  that  the  Whitings  would  be  grievously  pained 
by  my  making  any  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Sedgwick.  I  mention  this 
trivial  matter,  as  it  was  the  real  cause  that  in  after  times  induced  me 
unwisely  to  neglect  opportunities  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  Judge 
Sedgwick,  which  I  might  easily  have  done. 

When  I  got  to  Albany  I  put  up  at  the  Eagle  Tavern,  in  Main 
Street,  where  there  was  a  large  number  of  lawyers  attending  the  Su- 

a  Litchfield,  Conn.,  now  has  a  population  of  5971,  is  nearly  30  miles  west  of 
Hartford,  about  45  miles  from  New  Haven.  Great  Barring-ton,  in  the  Berkshire 
Hills,  nearly  90  miles  from  New  Haven,  a  town  of  about  6000  people,,  a  well- 
known  and  popular  summer-resort,  was  for  a  long  time  the  residence  of  Wm.  C. 
Bryant;  Stockbridge,  15  miles  north  of  Great  Barrington,  is  a  place  of  less  than 
2000  inhabitants,  contains  the  monument  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  near  is  Lake 
Mahkeenac,  where  Hawthorne  wrote  "The  House  of  Seven  Gables."  It  was  also 
the  summer-home  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  and  later  of  Joseph  H.  Choate.  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  is  some  45  miles  from  Stockbridge;  hence  Mr.  Mason's  horse-back  journey 
was  about  150  miles.  MacMaster  gives  the  population  of  Albany,  as  3800  in 


14  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


preme  Court  then  in  session.  There,  for  the  first  time,  I  saw  General 
Hamilton  and  Aaron  Burr.  I  immediately  inquired  out  my  classmate 
Woodworth,  who  had  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Mr. 
Lansing,  a  Dutchman,  and  afterwards  Chancellor  of  the  State,  the  im 
mediate  predecessor  of  Judge  Kent;  from  him  I  got  information  of 
the  general  lay  of  the  land.  After  looking  round  for  two  or  three  days 
I  applied  to  Major  Scill,  a  lawyer  of  good,  though  not  of  brilliant 
reputation,  and  frankly  and  fully  explained  to  him  my  true  condition 
and  strong  desire  to  enter  his  office  as  a  student  in  some  way,  if  I 
could.  He  received  me  with  great  courtesy  and  expressed  a  kind 
sympathy  for  my  situation,  saying  that  he  had  at  my  age  found  him 
self  in  a  similar  condition.  He  disapproved  of  my  project  of  school- 
keeping  ;  said  that  Mr.  Dickson,  whom  I  had  known  in  Yale  College, 
and  who  had  been  in  his  office  three  years,  was  then  just  leaving  it; 
that  he  had  much  writing  and  other  business  in  his  office  which  I 
could  advantageously  employ  myself  in  doing,  and  that,  if  I  felt 
willing  to  go  to  work  industriously,  he  would  receive  me  into  his  office 
and  furnish  all  the  means  necessary  for  my  support  during  my  three 
years'  term  of  study,  and  in  case  I  performed  my  duties  faithfull>, 
would,  at  the  termination,  claim  no  remuneration.  I  gladly  acceded 
to  his  offer,  and,  engaging  to  return  in  a  short  time,  left  him. 

When  at  Albany,  hearing  of  the  new  city  of  Troy,  then  just 
planned,  I  went  to  see  it.  I  found  a  great  number  of  streets  staked  out 
and  named,  with  only  three  or  four  buildings  of  any  kind,  where  (14) 
now  stands  a  well  built  city,  with,  I  suppose,  twenty-five  or  thirty 
thousand  inhabitants. 

When  I  got  home  and  told  my  father  what  I  had  done  he  was 
decidedly  opposed  to  the  whole  of  my  project.  His  chief  objection 
was  a  strong  dislike  to  my  settling  in  the  State  of  New  York.  The 
people  of  Connecticut  had,  from  ancient  time,  entertained  strong 
prejudices  against  the  people  of  New  York.  In  the  early  Indian  wars 
they  accused  them  of  aiding  the  Indians  by  supplying  them  with 

1786>,  and  says  it  was  then  over  100  years  old,  next  to  New  York  City  in  import 
ance  in  the  state,  the  sixth  in  rank  in  the  United  States.  It  was  expected  that 
Albany  would  rival  Boston  and  Philadelphia  in  magnificence,  and  become  the 
emporium  of  Northern  trade.  It  must  be  remembered  that  New  York  City's 
population  in  1786  was  but  24,500,  and  surpassed  by  Boston  alone  in  commerce, 
though  the  latter  had  but  15,000  souls,  and  Philadelphia,  32,205. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  15 


muskets  and  ammunition.  Besides,  the  Connecticut  folks  hated  the 
Yorkers  because  they  were  Dutchmen  and  knew  nothing  of  the  Say- 
brook  Platform.  My  father  partook  a  good  deal  of  the  prejudices  of 
his  neighbors,  and  felt  an  extreme  reluctance  that  I  should  go  and 
settle  for  life  among  the  Yorkers.  He  said  if  I  was  resolved  on  study 
ing  law  I  might  return  to  New  Haven  and  study  with  Mr.  Baldwin, 
and  that  he  would  pay  my  expenses.  Mr.  Baldwin  is  the  father  of 
the  present  governor  of  Connecticut.  He  was  then  a  young  man  of 
much  respectability,  had  been  a  tutor  in  college  two  or  three  years, 
and  in  the  practice  of  law  about  one  year.  I  felt  a  decided  prefer 
ence  for  returning  to  Albany,  but  being  unable  to  overcome  my  fath 
er's  reluctance  I  gave  it  up,  and  wrote  to  Major  Scill,  excusing  my 
neglect  to  perform  my  contract  on  the  ground  of  my  father's  refusing 
his  consent ;  to  which  I  received  an  answer,  approving  of  my  conduct. 
I  soon  went  to  New  Haven,  entered  Mr.  Baldwin's  office,  and 
lived  in  his  family.  Then,  as  at  the  present  time,  very  little  instruc 
tion  in  the  course  of  study  was  given  in  a  private  office.  I  spent  a 
year  in  Mr.  Baldwin's  office  reading  pretty  diligently.  My  time 
passed  pleasantly;  I  had  access  to  very  good  society.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  the  celebrated  Roger  Sherman  and  lived  near  him.  He 
had  a  family  of  children, — some  near  my  age.  I  was  often  at  the 
house,  and  very  frequently  saw  Mr.  Sherman.  His  reputation  was 
then  at  the  zenith.  His  manners,  without  apparent  arrogance,  were 
excessively  reserved  and  aristocratic.  His  habit  was,  in  his  own  house, 
when  tea  was  served  to  company,  to  walk  down  from  (15)  his  study 
into  the  room,  take  a  seat,  and  sip  his  tea,  of  which  he  seemed  fond, 
and  then  rise  and  walk  out  without  speaking  a  word  or  taking  any 
manner  of  notice  of  any  individual.  In  the  street  he  saw  nobody,  but 
wore  his  broad  beaver  pointing  steadily  to  the  horizon,  and  giving  no 
idle  nods.  Still,  I  fancy  Roger  Sherman  was  capable  of  the  most 
adroit  address  when  his  occasion  required  it.  Several  years  after 
this,  being  in  New  Haven,  I  met  Mr.  Sherman  in  the  street,  expect 
ing  to  pass  by  him  unseen,  as  usual ;  I  was  surprised  by  his  stopping 
and  kindly  greeting  me,  requesting  me  to  call  at  his  house  before  I  left 
the  city.  When  I  called,  he  received  me  most  courteously  and  in  a 
flattering  manner  congratulated  me  on  my  success  in  my  profession, 
of  which  he  said  he  had  been  informed.  He  then  told  me  that,  being 


16  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


a  member  of  the  old  Congress  of  the  Confederation  during  the  time 
Vermont  (in  which  State  he  erroneously  supposed  I  was  settled)  was 
asserting  against  New  York  its  claim  to  independence,  believing  the 
claim  just,  he  had  been  an  earnest  advocate  for  it;  that  during  the 
pendency  of  the  claim,  the  agents  of  Vermont  often  urged  him  to  ac 
cept  grants  of  land  from  that  State,  which  he  refused,  lest  it  should 
lessen  his  power  to  serve  them.  Now,  as  their  claim  was  established, 
and  the  State  admitted  into  the  Union,  if  the  people  of  Vermont  con 
tinued  to  feel  disposed  to  make  him  a  grant  of  some  of  their  ungranted 
lands,  as  his  family  was  large  and  his  property  small,  he  had  no  ob 
jection  to  accepting  it.  I  was  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  tell  him  that  I 
belonged  to  New  Hampshire  and  not  to  Vermont,  but  that  living  on 
the  borders  of  that  State  and  being  much  acquainted  with  many  of 
the  inhabitants,  I  would  do  what  I  could  to  have  his  wishes  complied 
with.  This  I  afterwards  did  by  stating  the  circumstances  to  several 
influential  men  of  Vermont.  They  readily  recognized  the  merits  of 
Mr.  Sherman's  services,  and  said  he  ought  to  have  a  liberal  grant. 
But  I  never  heard  that  anything  was  done  in  the  matter,  and  presume 
his  case  made  another  item  in  the  history  of  the  ingratitude  of 
republics.  The  time  the  Vermonters  needed,  his  services  was  passed. 

(16) 
As  I  have  before  stated,  the  time  when  I  commenced  the  study 

of  law  was  a  period  of  extreme  depression  and  poverty  throughout 
the  country.  The  war  of  the  Revolution  had  exhausted  all  the 
resources  of  the  country.  For  the  want  of  an  efficient  National  Gov 
ernment,  trade  and  all  other  kinds  of  business  remained  stagnant. 
The  profession  of  law  felt  this  depression  severely.  The  State  of 
Connecticut  was  overstocked  with  lawyers;  most  of  them  had  but 
little  business,  with  fees  and  compensation  miserably  small.  The 
professional  income  of  Pierpont  Edwards,11  supposed  to  be  the  largest 

a  Pierpont  Edwards  (1750-1826),  was  born  in  Northampton,  Mass.,  the 
youngest  son  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  the  celebrated  divine.  He  was  a  noted  law 
yer  and  politician;  was  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1768,  and  began  the  practice 
of  the  law  at  New  Haven  in  1771.  Was  frequently  elected  to  the  State  Legisla 
ture,  and  early  advocated  colonial  independence;  served  in  the  army;  was  admin 
istrator  of  Arnold's  Estate  after  his  treason;  was  a  member  of  the  Confederation 
Congress,  1787-8;  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  Judge  of  U.  S.  District  Court. 
Aroused  much  feeling  among  the  Connecticut  Calvanists  by  founding  a  Toleration 
Party.  His  income,  supposedly  the  largest  in  the  State,  was  less  than  $2,000  a 
year. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  17 


in  the  State,  was  said  not  to  amount  to  two  thousand  dollars  a  year. 
Very  few  obtained  half  that  sum ;  my  master  Baldwin,  with  his  utmost 
diligence,  was  scarcely  able  to  maintain  his  small  family,  living  in 
the  most  simple  manner.  Seeing  the  host  of  needy  young  lawyers, 
some  with  clever  talents,  seeking  business  with  little  or  no  success, 
I  soon  became  satisfied  that  my  prospect  was  exceedingly  unpromis 
ing.  The  common  opinion  was  that  the  prospect  for  success  was 
much  better  in  the  neighboring  States.  In  most  of  the  States  at  that 
time,  to  entitle  a  person  to  admission  to  the  bar,  a  term  of  study 
within  the  State  was  required.  After  maturely  balancing  the  pros 
and  cons,  I  came  to  the  conclusion,  in  the  fall  of  1789,  that  it  was 
best  for  me  to  quit  Connecticut.,  My  inclination  was  strong  for  New 
York,  and  I  wished  to  renew  my  application  to  Major  Scill,  but  I  found 
my  father  still  averse  to  it.  I  then  proposed  Vermont.  To  this  he 
made  no  objection.1  I  took  a  journey  of  exploration  into  that  State. 
I  there  became  acquainted  with  my  Uncle  Marsh  and  his  family.  He 
was  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  Windsor  County, 
had  been  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  State,  and  was  a  man  of  much 
respectability.  He  was  decidedly  in  favor  of  my  coming  to  Vermont. 
His  son,  my  cousin  Charles  Marsh,  had  then  just  commenced  the  prac 
tice  of  law  at  Woodstock,  and  seemed  to  have  a  good  prospect  for 
business.  The  country  was  new  and  rough,  with  the  life  and  bustle 
peculiar  to  new  countries.  There  were,  at  that  time,  few  lawyers, 
comparatively,  in  the  State,  and  still  fewer  of  any  eminence.  There 
was  an  ample  supply  of  law-suits  involving  land  titles  of  considerable 
importance.  I  concluded,  on  the  whole,  that  I  should  stand  a  better 
chance  for  success  in  Vermont  than  in  Connecticut.  I  entered  myself 
as  a  student  in  the  office  of  Stephen  Rowe  Bradley,  at  Westminster11 ; 
returned  home ;  visited  New  Haven,  and  took  up  my  connections 
there  and  went  back  to  Westminster  the  first  part  of  the  ensuing 
winter.  I  found  General  Bradley  (that  was  his  usual  designation) 
an  extraordinary  character.  He  inherited  from  nature  an  ardent 

1  Many  of  the  settlers  of  Vermont,  especially  of  the  region  of  the  Connecti 
cut  river,  emigrated  from  Connecticut,  and  were  known  to  my  father.  He  had 
always  been  strongly  in  favor  of  the  independence  of  Vermont,  influenced,  per 
haps,  somewhat  by  his  dislike  of  New  York. 

(17) 

a  Westminster  is  now  a  village  of  but  850  people. 


18  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


and  sanguine  temperament,  with  vigorous,  natural  powers  of  mind, 
and  strong  passions.  He  was  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1775,  but 
his  attainments  from  study  were  slender.  His  studies  were  irregular, 
as  his  capricious  humors  and  inclinations  directed ;  without  much 
refinement  of  any  kind,  he  had  an  unconquerable  love  for  broad  humor 
and  practical  jokes,  which  he  freely  indulged  on  all  occasions.  He 
was  an  admirable  story-teller,  and  was  never  more  delighted  than 
when  he  had  an  opportunity  to  set  the  rabble  of  a  court-house  or  bar 
room  on  a  roar  by  one  of  his  overwhelming  droll  stories.  With  all 
this  apparent  lightness  and  indulgence  in  drolleries,  he  was  persever 
ing  and  efficient  in  action,  rather  deriving  aid  than  suffering  impedi 
ment  from  them.  Many  years  after  the  time  of  which  I  am  speaking, 
I  heard  the  celebrated  Mr.  Giles  of  Virginia,  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  when  expressing  his  regret  for  the  failure  of  a  certain 
measure  that  had  been  attempted,  attribute  the  failure  entirely  to 
General  Bradley,  who  had  then  been  a  member  of  that  body,  saying 
that  of  all  the  men  he  ever  knew,  General  Bradley  possessed  the  most 
extraordinary  powers  in  a  deliberative  assembly  to  defeat  any  measure 
he  assailed.  Among  his  other  queer  fancies  he  built  a  pulpit  in  his 
office,  which  was  ample,  adjoined  his  house,  and  opened  directly  into 
a  parlor,  and  also  into  a  long  piazza,  so  that  a  large  audience  might 
be  accommodated.  He  occasionally  notified  meetings  and  had  preach 
ing  in  his  pulpit.  (18)  On  one  occasion  he  gave  out  that  Mr.  Murray, 
the  celebrated  Universalist,  was  to  preach  in  his  pulpit.  This  gathered 
a  crowded  assembly,  when  instead  of  Mr.  Murray,  an  ordinary  travel 
ing  Universalist  preacher  whom  he  picked  up,  entered  the  pulpit.  He 
was  fluent,  and  delivered  a  flaming  discourse  on  his  favorite  doctrine. 
Mr.  Sage,  the  minister  of  the  parish,  an  ardent  young  Calvinistic 
divine  of  the  Orthodox  sect,  who  had  attended  to  protect  the  purity 
of  the  faith,  on  the  close  of  the  discourse  immediately  challenged  the 
Universalist  to  a  combat  of  polemic  discussion.  The  Universalist 
promptly  accepted  the  challenge;  General  Bradley  immediately  ar 
ranged  the  combatants  at  two  tables,  and  assumed  a  seat  for  himself 
as  moderator  to  rule  the  debate  and  keep  order.  Sage  assumed  the 
part  of  assailant  and  the  Universalist  that  of  defender,  and  the  battle 
began.  For  two  long  hours  the  moderator  sat  with  imperturbable 
gravity,  ruling  the  questions  of  order  raised  by  the  combatants,  and 


LEMUEL    SHAW, 
of  Massachusetts. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  19 


sometimes  suggesting  questions  himself.  This  furnished  him  with 
an  ample  fund  of  amusement  for  a  long  time. 

He  was  extravagantly  fond  of  narrating  the  fooleries  he  had 
practiced.  He  often  told  with  great  zest  a  hoax  he  had  practiced  on 
a  poor  man,  by  imparting  to  him,  under  solemn  injunctions  of  secrecy, 
a  recipe  for  making  the  fish  called  bass  out  of  bass-wood.  He  had  a 
vast  stock  of  stories  of  such  like  feats.  His  manners  were  popular, 
and  such  light  conduct  did  not  seem  much  to  injure  his  respectability 
in  the  rude  state  of  society  then  prevailing  in  that  region. 

He  professed  to  attach  much  importance  to  the  Orthodox  relig 
ious  faith;  and  with  a  strong  love  for  money,  he  suffered  but  little 
inconvenience  from  rigid  principle  of  any  kind.  A  short  time  before 
I  entered  his  office,  he  had  married  his  second  wife,  an  amiable  wom 
an  of  lady-like  accomplishments,  who  exerted  a  very  favorable  influ 
ence  over  him.  I  lived  in  the  family,  where  all  things  were  pleasant, 
and  occasionally  enlivened  by  agreeable  company.  There  was  little 
or  no  good  society  in  the  place,  nor  was  it  (19)  much  better  at 
Walpole,a  the  village  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river. 

There  was  then  living  in  Westminister  a  lawyer  of  the  name  of 
Lot  Hall  (afterwards  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Vermont),  a 
man  of  ordinary  natural  talents,  little  learning,  and  much  industry. 
With  him  Bradley  had  long  been  at  feud.  As  is  usual  with  village 
feuds,  where  there  can  be  but  few  objects  to  excite  the  feelings  and 
passions,  the  mutual  enmity  had  become  so  violent  as  to  prevent 
all  social  intercourse.  Justices  of  the  peace  had  a  large  civil  juris 
diction  which  was  final  when  under  a  certain  amount  of  damages. 
Before  these  Justices'  Courts  a  great  deal  of  petty  litigation  was 
carried  on.  At  these  courts  Messrs.  Bradley  and  Hall  often  met, 
and  held  discussions  not  well  calculated  to  soften  or  sweeten  their 
tempers.  Soon  after  I  entered  his  office,  Mr.  Bradley,  being  obliged 
to  be  absent  at  the  time  of  one  of  these  courts,  requested  me  to  attend 
in  his  stead.  I  rather  reluctantly  consented,  fearing  that  I  should 
not  be  equal  to  the  occasion ;  but  Mr.  Bradley  encouraged  me  by 
professing  to  hold  his  adversary  in  great  contempt.  I  attended,  and 
there  argued  my  first  cause,  and  won  it;  with  which  both  my  client 
and  I  were  well  satisfied.  Mr.  Bradley  was  much  gratified  that  I  had 

a  Walpole  now  has  a  population  of  800. 

""""*> 


20  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


beat  Hall,  as  he  termed  it.  He  said  his  engagements  were  such  as 
rendered  it  inconvenient  for  him  to  attend  to  these  petty  cases,  and 
offered  to  give  me  the  whole  charge  and  management  of  all  the 
business  before  the  Justices'  Courts,  with  all  the  fees  in  litigated 
cases,  and  one  half  the  income  (being  the  taxed  costs)  in  the  cases 
not  litigated.  The  offer  was  grossly  improper  for  him  to  make  and 
for  me  to  accept;  my  time  ought  to  have  been  exclusively  devoted 
to  study.  But  I  needed  money,  which  I  knew  my  father  furnished 
rather  reluctantly,  felt  pleased  with  the  offer,  which  flattered  my 
vanity,  and  immediately  acceded  to  it  and  launched  out  into  a  sea 
of  pettifogging.  I  continued  in  Mr.  Bradley's  office  nearly  a  year 
and  a  half,  during  which  I  did  a  very  considerable  business  under 
this  agreement.  I  commenced  a  multitude  of  suits  for  the  collec 
tion  of  small  debts,  and  often  appeared  as  counsel  in  the  petty  liti- 

(20) 
gation  in  the  Justices'   Courts   in  Westminster  and   the   adjoining 

towns.  I  certainly  knew  very  little  law,  but  that  was  the  less 
necessary  as  most  of  my  opponents  knew  not  much  more,  and  the 
judges  I  addressed  none  at  all.  Being  tolerably  fluent  I  got  along 
pretty  well.  Whenever  it  was  my  fortune  to  meet  Mr.  Hall,  I  was 
careful  to  treat  him  with  marked  courtesy,  to  show  that  with  his 
business  I  had  not  adopted  Mr.  Bradley's  quarrel.  I  often  studied 
my  little  causes  with  sufficient  diligence,  and  this  premature  at 
tempt  to  argue  causes  helped  me  to  gain  confidence  in  myself;  which 
was  highly  beneficial  to  me,  for  I  was  exceedingly  diffident.] 

The  withdrawing  so  much  of  my  time  and  attention  from  regular, 
systematic  study  was  doubtless  injurious.  But  it  put  me  early  in  the 
habit  of  relying  on  my  own  resources,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  it  was  on  the  whole  advantageous  to  me.  It  was,  however,  a  dan 
gerous  course,  and  I  would  not  advise  any  law  student  to  follow  it, 
if  he  had  the  opportunity.  The  money  part  of  the  arrangement 
did  well  enough  during  the  eighteen  months  I  pursued  it.  I  had 
no  occasion  to  call  on  my  father  for  supplies ;  my  part  of  the  emolu 
ments  of  the  business  was  more  than  sufficient  to  pay  all  my  ex 
penses,  including  my  tuition-fee  and  the  purchase  of  clothes,  and  also 
the  purchase  of  a  saddle-horse,  which  I  kept  nearly  all  the  time. 
But  this  was  in  reality  of  no  great  importance  to  me,  for  my  father 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  21 


had  consented  to  pay  my  expenses  and  was  well  able  to  do  it  without 
any  inconvenience. 

At  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  held  at  New  Fanea  in  the  county 
of  Windham  in  June,  1791,  I  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  By  a  statute 
of  Vermont  the  term  of  study  requisite  for  admission  was  two  years 
within  that  State.  I  had  studied  more  than  two  years  in  the  whole, 
but  only  eighteen  months  within  the  State  of  Vermont.  The  prac 
tice  of  the  Court  was  to  refer  to  the  members  of  the  bar  all  applica 
tions  for  admission  to  it.  The  bar  of  that  county  consisting  mostly 
of  young  men  friendly  to  me,  construed  the  statutes  by  equity  in 
my  case  and  recommended  me  for  admission.  The  Chief  Justice,  at 

(21) 

the  private  suggestion  of  Mr.  Bradley,1  as  I  had  reason  to  believe, 
opposed  my  admission  on  the  ground  of  non-compliance  with  the 
statute,  which  he  said  the  court  was  bound  to  inquire  into;  but 
his  two  associates  overruled  him,  and  I  was  admitted,  j  My  object 
now  was  to  fix  on  a  place  for  commencing  the  practice  of  my  pro 
fession.  The  reputation  of  the  State  of  Vermont  was  at  that  time 
low.  A  few  years  before  the  war  of  the  Revolution  an  ancient  con 
test  between  the  colonies  of  New  York  and  New  Hampshire,  for 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  territory  which  now  constitutes  the  State  of 
Vermont,  had  been  decided  by  the  Royal  Government  of  England 
in  favor  of  New  York.  Most  of  the  lands  had  been  granted  by  New 
Hampshire,  and  nearly  all  the  settlements  had  been  made  under 
those  grants.  The  inhabitants  were  almost  universally  opposed  to 
coming  under  the  government  of  New  York,  and  boldly  deter 
mined  to  resist  that  government  by  force.  To  effect  this  they  as 
sociated  and  organized  a  government  by  no  authority  other  than 
their  own.  Although  they  successfully  resisted  New  York,  estab 
lished  their  independence,  and  were  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a 
State,  yet  they  labored  under  the  reproach  of  having  originated  a 
rebellion  which  they  sustained  by  a  course  of  measures  of  a  mob- 
bish  character,  tending  to  the  destruction  of  all  elevated  and  noble 

a  New  Fane  is  now  a  village  of  136  people. 

1  My  reason  for  believing  that  Mr.  Bradley  made  this  suggestion,  was  that 
when  I  requested  him  to  propose  me  for  admission,  he  advised  against  it,  and 
recommended  to  me  to  remain  six  months  longer  in  his  office.  He  said  he  would 
propose  me  if  I  persisted  in  requesting  it,  but  that  I  should  in  all  probability  be 
refused.  I  told  him  the  bar  would  recommend  me  to  the  court.  He  answered 


22  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


principles.  Their  courts  were  badly  organized  and  usually  filled 
with  incompetent  men.2  Most  of  the  members  of  the  bar  were 
poorly  educated,  and  some  of  vulgar  manners  and  indifferent 
morals.  Besides,  a  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  were  new  set 
tlers  and  poor,  and  of  course  not  desirable  clients.  Casting  these 

(22) 
circumstances  over,  I  began  to  doubt  whether  I  had  best  pitch  my 

domicil  in  Vermont,  and  entertained  serious  thoughts  of  transferring 
my  allegiance  to  the  State  of  New  Hampshire.  This  latter  State 
had  age  in  its  favor,  with  an  apparently  more  stable  and  better  or 
ganized  government,  more  property,  and  was  in  all  respects  in  higher 
repute  than  Vermont.  The  courts  of  the  two  States  were  nearly  on  an 
equality  as  to  learning  and  talent,  but  those  of  New  Hampshire  had 
greatly  the  advantage  in  point  of  purity  and  integrity.  The  bar 
of  New  Hampshire  also  were  more  orderly,  better  educated,  and  of 
better  mannersTj  I  had  become  acquainted  with  several  members 
of  the  bar  in  tnT  county  of  Cheshire  in  New  Hampshire,  who  assured 
me  that  if  I  was  disposed  to  come  into  that  county,  there  would  be 
no  objection  to  my  admission. 

It  happened  at  that  time  that  a  Colonel  Moore,  who  had  been 
for  several  years  in  the  practice  in  the  town  of  Westmoreland,51  where 
he  owned  a  small  farm  on  which  he  lived,  had  become  desirous  of 
removing  into  the  District  of  Maine.  Hearing  of  my  inclination 
to  come  into  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  he  applied  to  me  and 
offered  to-  sell  me  his  farm,  and  with  it  to  resign  to  me  his  busi 
ness.  On  inquiry,  I  found  he  had  a  considerable  run  of  business, 
and  his  stand  was  thought  to  be  a  good  one,  there  being  no  other 
lawyer  near  it.  I  agreed  to  accept  his  offer  on  condition  that  I 

that  the  court  would  not  comply  with  such  recommendation.  I  felt  confident  that 
he  had  no  doubt  that  the  court  would  comply  with  the  recommendation  of  the 
bar  if  I  had  the  aid  of  his  influence.  Besides,  this  sinistrous  course  was  congenial 
to  the  man. 

2  To  this  observation  the  now  venerable  Nathaniel  Chipman  forms  an  illus 
trious  exception.  He  had  lately  been  appointed  Chief  Justice  to  the  Supreme 
Court.  He  was  a  sound  lawyer  and  able  judge,  and  although  he  held  the  place 
for  but  a  short  period  he  did  much  to  reform  the  courts  of  the  State.  He  is 
still  living,  and  may  be  justly  styled  the  patriarch  of  the  Vermont  bar.* 
*  Judge  Chipman  died  in  1843. 

a  Westmoreland,  N.  H.,  has  now  about  380  people. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  23 


should  be  admitted  to  the  bar  in  New  Hampshire.  Admission  in 
that 'State  was  regulated  by  the  rules  adopted  by  the  bar.  They 
required  three  years'  study  within  the  State;  but  they  were  con 
strued  liberally,  and  the  studying  within  the  State  had  sometimes 
been  dispensed  with.  At  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  at  Charles- 
town,  1791,  I  applied  and  was  admitted  without  any  difficulty.  For 
this  I  was  indebted  to  the  good  offices  of  Mr.  West,  who  was  pre 
eminently  at  the  head  of  the  bar  of  that  county.  Thinking  myself 
very  kindly  treated  by  the  bar,  I  in  return  gave  them  a  brave  sup 
per  at  which  no  small  quantity  of  wine  and  some  wit  were  ex 
pended.  At  my  request  the  venerable  Judge  Champney  of  New 
Ipswich  presided,  and  at  a  late  hour,  when  we  had  become  suffi- 

(23) 

ciently  inspired,  he  called  on  me  to  stand  forth,  and  delivered  me 
a  charge,  accompanied  with  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  All  passed 
in  due  form  according  to  the  taste  of  the  day,  and  much  to  the  amuse 
ment  of  the  company. 

I  immediately  made  a  journey  home,  and  obtained  from  my 
father  what  money  he  had  on  hand,  amounting  to  several  hundred 
dollars, — which  he  readily  gave  me,  as  it  was  to  be  laid  out  in  land, 
which  he  always  deemed  the  best  use  for  money, — and  came  back 
and  completed  my  bargain  with  Colonel  Moore.  My  purchase  con 
sisted  of  about  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  with  a  plain  and  simple 
cottage  on  it,  standing  on  the  bank  of  Connecticut  river.  The  price 
was  about  $1,500.  I  gave  him  what  I  received  of  my  father,  and 
for  the  rest  assumed  a  mortgage  that  he  had  given  on  the  land. 
There  was  a  family  in  the  house,  which  furnished  me  with  simple 
lodging  and  boarding.  I  kept  my  office  in  a  small  room  of  the  house 
for  a  short  time,  and  then  removed  it  into  an  adjoining  building,  that 
had  been  occupied  for  a  trader's  store,  which  I  purchased.  The 
situation  was  very  retired  but  rather  pleasant;  no  neighbors  near 
and  nothing  like  a  village  in  the  town. 

Thus,  on  the  30th  of  September,  1791,  when  twenty-three  years 
of  age,  I  found  myself  settled  down  for  the  practice  of  my  profes 
sion.  I  knew  my  stock  of  law  learning  was  small.  That  I  firmly 
resolved  to  increase  to  the  utmost  of  my  power.  I  had  supplied 
myself  with  law  books  sufficient  for  present  use,  and  went  earnestly 
to  work  with  them.  The  determination  to  do  this  was  what  rec- 


24  ^MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


onciled  me  to  the  solitariness  of  my  situation.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  town,  with  the  exception  of  the  clergyman,  consisted  of 
rough,  uncultivated  farmers.  They,  or  rather  a  select  number  of 
them,  were  in  the  habit  of  meeting  together  at  each  other's  houses 
and  having  carouses.  Of  these  high-goes  my  predecessor,  Colonel 
Moore,  was  extravagantly  fond,  and  indulged  in  them  to  great  ex 
cess.  He  had  been  educated  at  Cambridge  College,  was  of  the 
class  of  1782,  at  which  time  that  institution  was  more  distinguished 

(24) 
for  producing  good  fellows  than  good  scholars.     He  had  procured 

the  establishment  of  a  lodge  of  Freemasons  in  the  town,  of  which 
he  was  the  Master.  With  much  benevolence  of  disposition,  he  was 
very  dissipated  and  very  popular.  He  earnestly  advised  me  to  join 
the  lodge,  and  associate  freely  with  the  inhabitants.  I  went  to  sev 
eral  of  their  parties,  and,  fortunately  for  me,  was  disgusted  with 
their  course  wit  and  rude  manners.  To  get  out  of  the  scrape,  I  gave 
them  as  good  a  treat  as  I  could  at  my  cottage,  and  had  no  more  to  do 
with  them,  assigning  for  my  excuse,  that  my  time  was  so  entirely 
occupied  with  my  business  and  my  studies,  that  I  had  none  to  spare. 
From  the  Masonic  lodge  I  kept  free. 

f~" 

l^Small  professional  business  flowed  in  upon  me  in  great  abun 
dance.  There  were  four  courts  of  Common  Pleas  held  in  the  county 
each  year.  I  see  by  my  old  dockets  that  during  the  first  year  of  my 
practice,  I  commenced  two  hundred  and  two  suits  at  the  Common 
Pleas,  and  in  the  second  year  two  hundred  and  forty-seven,  and  in 
the  third  year  two  hundred  and  fifty-seven.  Besides  these,  a  vast 
many  writs  were  issued,  returnable  before  justices  of  the  peace^ 

Before  the  end  of  the  first  year,  I  admitted  into  my  office  two 
young  collegians, :  as  students  at  law.  I  was  aware  of  my  incompe- 
tency  to  direct  their  studies,  and  frankly  told  them  so;  but  they 
persisted  in  their  request,  and  I  assented.  My  law  library,  though 
small,  was,  I  believe,  as  good  as  any  in  the  county.  They  were 
soon  able  to  assist  me  much  in  the  formal  writings  in  the  office. 
During  the  three  years  I  continued  in  Westmoreland,  although  a 
considerable  portion  of  my  time  was  necessarily  taken  up  with  the 
multiplicity  of  small  business  in  my  office,  I  studied  with  more  dili- 

1  Erasmus  Butterfield  and  William  Thurston. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  25 


gence  than  I  ever  did  at  any  other  period  of  my  life.  I  was  duly 
sensible  of  the  necessity  of  it,  and  what  increased  my  conviction 
of  it  was  inability  to  answer,  to  my  own  satisfaction,  the  inquiries 
sometimes  put  to  me  by  the  young  men  under  my  direction. 

(JHaving  acquired  some  little  knowledge  of  the  way  of  managing 

4  (25) 

causes  while  a  student  in  Vermont,  with  a  good  deal  of  conceit  I 

determined  to  begin  immediately  to  argue  all  the  causes  I  com 
menced,  and  others  in  which  I  might  be  engaged,  both  in  the  Com 
mon  Pleas  and  Superior  courts.  Fortunately  for  my  hazardous  un 
dertaking,  law  learning  was,  at  that  time,  in  a  very  low  state  in  the 
New  Hampshire  courts.  My  first  cause  was  an  appeal  from  the 
judgment  of  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  Common  Pleas.  Judge 
Newcomb,  an  old  practicing  lawyer,  had  then  lately  been  appointed 
Chief  Justice.  I  was  for  the  plaintiff  and  on  introducing  my  evi 
dence,  the  Chief  Justice  ruled  against  me  on  my  own  evidence.  I 
insisted  on  arguing  the  case  to  the  jury.  Mr.  West,  who  was  for 
the  defendant,  declined  to  argue  it  after  so  decided  an  opinion  in 
his  favor.  I  went  on  with  my  argument;  the  Chief  Justice  charged 
strongly  against  me,  but  the  jury  gave  a  verdict  in  my  favor.  This 
was  final  and  conclusive,  the  court  then  having  no  power  to  set 
aside  verdicts  of  juries.  This  was,  of  course,  highly  gratifying  to 
me,  and  tended  much  to  confirm  me  in  my  adventurous  resolutionTl 
/  At  this  time  the  Legislature  was  in  the  practice  of  frequently  iri^" 
terfering  with  the  business  of  the  courts,  by  granting  new  trials  and 
prescribing  special  rules  for  the  trial  of  a  particular  action.  A  ludi 
crous  instance  of  the  exercise  of  this  sovereign  power  occurred  early 
in  my  practice  at  Westmoreland.  A  poor  man  was  accused  of  hav 
ing  stolen  two  small  pigs  of  a  neighbor,  who  applied  at  my  office 
for  a  prosecution  for  larceny.  Doubting  whether  the  taking  of  the 
pigs  under  the  circumstances  amounted  to  stealing,  one  of  my  stu 
dents,  to  whom  in  my  absence  the  application  was  made,  advised  to 
an  action  of  trover;  this  was  commenced,  in  which  the  two  pigs 
were  alleged  to  be  of  the  value  of  one  dollar.  The  deputy  sheriff, 
in  serving  the  writ,  finding  nobody  at  the  defendant's  cottage,  left 
the  summons  safely  placed  between  the  door  and  the  sill,  which  the 
plaintiff,  living  near,  saw  done.  As  soon  as  the  sheriff  was  out  of 
sight,  the  plaintiff  went  and  stole  away  the  summons.  Unluckily 


26  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


for  him,  this  was  seen  by  a  person  at  a  distance.  The  action  was  of 
course  defaulted,  and  the  first  news  the  defendant  had  of  it  was  an 

(26) 
execution.     He  made  a  great  outcry,  and  soon  ascertained  that  the 

summons  had  been  stolen.  He  came  to  me  with  his  complaint,  and 
I  offered  him  to  have  the  judgment  and  execution  canceled,  and  to 
let  him  have  a  trial  for  the  pigs.  This  he  rejected  with  contempt, 
and  forthwith  applied  to  the  Legislature,  then  in  session,  for  a  rem 
edy  for  his  grievance.  The  Legislature,  without  notice  to  the  op 
posite  party,  immediately  passed  an  act  directing  the  magistrate  to 
cite  the  plaintiff  before  him,  set  aside  the  default  and  try  the  action, 
and  to  allow  to  either  party  an  appeal.  The  plaintiff  was  cited,  and 
I  appeared  for  him,  and  denied  the  power  of  the  Legislature  to  pass 
the  act,  and  went  into  an  argument  on  the  constitutional  restraints 
of  the  legislative  power.  This  was  answered  by  the  opposing  coun 
sel,  by  portraying  the  audaciousness  of  the  attempt  of  an  inferior 
magistrate  to  question  the  power  of  the  supreme  Legislature.  But 
the  justice,  having  been  an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  amiy,  and 
being  desirous  of  sustaining  his  reputation  for  courage,  which  stood 
high,  promptly  pronounced  the  act  utterly  void,  and  refused  to  obey 
it.  An  appeal  was  claimed  and  disallowed,  the  justice  saying  that, 
as  the  whole  proceeding  was  void,  he  had  no  rightful  power  to  re 
cord  a  judgment  or  grant  an  appeal.  Thus  ended  the  first  act  of  the 
farcical  drama.  The  defendant,  nothing  discouraged  by  his  ill  luck, 
obtained  from  the  sovereign  Legislature,  at  its  next  session,  an  act 
directing  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  to  try  the  defaulted  action. 
There  the  parties  again  met,  and,  after  due  argumentation  and  de 
liberation  had,  that  court  determined  they  would  do  nothing  with  it. 
By  this  time  the  pig  action  had  gained  extensive  notoriety,  and 
tended  much  to  bring  such  special  acts  of  the  Legislature  interfer 
ing  with  the  regular  course  of  the  courts  of  law,  into  ridicule  and 
deserved  contempt.  1 

Having  no  mention  of  remaining  long  at  Westmoreland,  I  did 
but  little  in  improving  my  farm.  I  made  a  small  garden,  and 
planted  out  a  few  trees  for  fruit  and  shade.  I  took  no  oversight  of 
my  farm,  which  was  left  entirely  to  the  farmer  who  had  charge  of  it. 
I  had  no  time  for  it,  had  I  been  inclined,  I  was  so  fully  occupied  by 

(27) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  27 


my  studies  and  my  business.  My  income  from  my  business,  though 
not  large,  yet  far  exceeded  my  expectation,  and,  in  that  particular, 
I  felt  tolerably  well  satisfied.  But  I  became  tired  with  the  solitari 
ness  of  my  situation,  and,  late  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1794,  I  re 
moved  to  Walpole,  six  miles  higher  up  the  river.  This  was  a  brisk, 
active  village,  with  several  traders,  and  many  industrious  mechanics, 
and  two  or  three  taverns,  in  one  of  which  I  took  lodging  for  a  short 
time,  when  I  engaged  a  clever  house,  and  small  family  to  keep  it,  in 
which  I  lodged  and  kept  my  office.  Walpole  was,  at  that  time,  a 
place  of  more  business  than  any  in  that  vicinity,  and  was  much 
resorted  to  by  the  people  of  the  neighboring  towns.  There  was  also 
a  considerable  travel  from  a  distance,  passing  on  what  was  called 
the  great  river  road,  so  that  my  situation  here  seemed  quite  a  con 
trast  to  my  former  solitude.  The  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  the 
valley  of  the  Connecticut  river  were  then  just  passing  from  the 
rude  and  boisterous  manners  of  first  settlers  to  a  more  civilized, 
orderly,  and  composed  state.  There  was  more  motion,  life,  and 
bustle  than  in  the  older  parts  of  the  country. 

[]?  set  of  young  men,  mostly  of  the  legal  profession,  extending 
from  Greenfield,  in  Massachusetts,  to  Windsor,  in  Vermont,  a  dis 
tance  of  fifty  or  sixty  miles, ,  were  much  in  the  habit  of  familiar 
intercourse  for  the  sake  of  amusement  and  recreation.  They  occa 
sionally  met  at  village  taverns,  but  more  commonly  at  the  sessions 
of  the  courts,  and  freely  indulged  in  gambling,  excessive  drinking, 
and  such  like  dissipation.  The  most  of  them  were  gentlemanly  in 
manners,  and  some  talented.  I  rejoice  that  I  am  able  to  say  with 
truth  that  I  did  not  belong  to  them,  and  never  associated  with  them 
in  their  dissipations;  my  poor  friend,  Colonel  Moore,  who  had  been 
a  leader  among  them  and  was  already  ruined,  served  me  as  a  warn 
ing  beacon, — added  to  this  was  the  friendly  advice  of  Mr.  West,  for 
whom  I  early  entertained  the  most  reverential  esteem  and  respect?] 

("Mr.  West  was  by  far  the  first,  best  lawyer,  and,  in  all  respects, 
the"nTost  respectable  man  in  that  region  of  country.  He  was  edu 
cated,  I  believe,  at  Princeton  College,  New  Jersey,  and  commenced 

(28) 

the  practice  of  law  at  Charlestowna  before  the  close  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  War.  He  had  good  natural  powers  of  mind,  a  quick  ana 

a  Charlestown,  N.  H.,  now  has  about  1000  people. 


28  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


clear  perception,  a  delicate  taste,  highly  refined,  a  sound  judgment, 
and  lively  imagination.  His  style  of  speaking  was  simple,  natural, 
smooth,  and  mild;  always  pure  and  neat,  and  sometimes  elegant, 
with  a  good  person,  clear  and  pleasant  voice,  much  earnestness  and 
apparent  sincerity, — he  was,  altogether,  a  most  persuasive  speaker, 
In  arguing  cases  of  complicated  and  doubtful  evidence  before  a 
jury,  I  have  seldom,  if  ever,  heard  his  superior.  In  the  discussions 
of  questions  of  law,  and  in  argumentation  of  mere  abstract  proposi 
tions,  he  was  less  powerful;  indeed,  for  the  discussion  of  questions 
of  law,  he  was  deficient  in  law  learning.  This  he  was  fully  sensible 
of,  and  attributed  it  to  his  having  quitted  the  study  when  he  began 
the  practice  of  the  law.  He  said  the  elder  Judge  Livermore,  who 
had  been  Attorney  General  of  the  province  before  the  Revolution, 
was  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court;  that,  having  no  law  learn 
ing  himself,  he  did  not  like  to  be  pestered  with  it  at  his  courts ;  that 
when  he  (Mr.  West)  attempted  to  read  law  books  in  a  law  argu 
ment,  the  Chief  Justice  asked  him  why  he  read  them;  if  he  thought 
that  he  and  his  brethren  did  not  know  as  much  as  those  musty  old 
worm-eaten  books?  Mr.  West  answered,  'These  books  contain  the 
wisdom  of  the  ancient  sages  of  the  law."  The  reply  was,  ''Well, 
do  you  think  we  do  not  understand  the  principles  of  justice  as  well 
as  the  old  wigged  lawyers  of  the  dark  ages  did?"  and  thus  his  law 
books  were  laughed  out  of  court.  This^was  surely  but  poor  encour 
agement  for  the  dry  study  of  law  books. 

Mr.  West  was  remarkable  for  -ftis"  modesty  and  diffidence ;  he 
never  rose  to  speak,  on  any  important  occasion,  without  such  excite 
ment  as  caused  a  nervous  tremor.  I  have  heard  him  say  that  his 
feelings,  arising  from  diffidence,  were  so  distressingly  oppressive, 
that  he  never  rose,  on  such  occasions,  when  he  would  not  willingly 
have  given  three  times  the  amount  of  his  fees  to  have  been  excused. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Convention  of  New  Hampshire  for  adopt 
ing  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  where,  from  his  known 

(29) 
talents,  much  was  expected  from  him.     There  was  much  discussion, 

and  the  result,  about  which  he  'was  very  anxious,  was  a  long  time 
held  in  doubtful  suspense ;  yet,  though  strongly  urged,  such  was 
his  diffidence  that  he  could  not  be  induced  to  speak. 

In  social  intercourse  his  manners  were  simple,  but  always  cour- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  29 


teous  and  urbane.  He  had  a  delicate  and  refined  wit,  and  was  fond 
of  it  in  others;  his  manner  of  living  was  simple,  exceedingly  neat, 
and  approaching  to  elegance;  he  indulged  in  a  liberal  hospitality, 
entirely  free  from  all  ostentation.  In  short,  he  was  a  gentleman  in 
the  true  and  best  sense  of  the  term. 

Soon  after  I  removed  to  Walpole,  Joseph  Dennie,  who  had 
studied  law  in  Mr.  West's  office,  and  had  just  been  admitted  to  the 
courts,  came  to  reside  in  that  village  under  the  pretense  of  practic 
ing  law.  His  legal  knowledge  consisted  wholly  in  a  choice  selection 
of  quaint,  obsolete,  and  queer  phrases  from  "Plowden's  Commenta 
ries,"  the  only  law  book  he  had  ever  read  with  any  attention,  and 
this  was  read  for  the  sole  purpose  of  treasuring  up  in  his  memory 
these  quaint  phrasesTl  These  he  often  repeated  in  ridicule  of  the 
law,  to  the  great  amusement  of  his  auditors.  He  was  the  most 
aerial,  refined,  and  highly  sublimated  spirit  it  has  ever  been  my  hap 
to  meet  with.'1  He  was  graduated  at  Cambridge  University,  and 
was  of  the  class  of  1790,  and,  against  his  own  inclination,  by  the 
urgent  advice  of  his  friends,  he  undertook  to  study  law.  With  a 
good  share  of  native  genius,  he  had  a  delicate  and  accurate  taste, 
much  cultivated  by  an  ardent  study  of  the  English  classics,  with 
which  he  was  thoroughly  imbued.  His  language  in  common  con 
versation,  without  any  appearance  of  stiffness  or  pedantry,  was 
always  pure  and  classical.  He  early  determined  on  the  life  of  an 
author,  and  he  deemed  it  necessary  to  avoid  the  use  of  low  or 
vulgar  language  in  conversation,  in  order  to  be  secure  against  it  in 
writing.  Highly  excited  by  reading  Gibbon's  ''Decline  and  Fall  of 
the  Roman  Empire,"  he  determined  (to  use  his  own  language) 
"to  essay"  the  history  of  his  own  country.  His  powers  of  conver 
sation  were  of  the  highest  order.  He  had  a  slender  and  feeble 

(30) 
frame,  and  was  often  depressed  by  bad  health;  but  when  in  good 

health  and  spirits,  I  think  I  have  never  known  a  more  eloquent  and 

a  "He  was  the  most  aerial,  refined,  and  highly  sublimated  spirit  it  has  ever 
been  my  hap  to  meet  with."  This  is  probably  plagiarized  from  Lawrence  Sterne's 
description  of  Shakespeare's  Yorick,  of  whom  Sterne  says:  "He  was  as  mercurial 
and  sublimated  a  composition;  as  heteroclite  a  creature  in  all  his  declensions; 
with  as  much  life  and  whim,  and  gaite  de  coeur  about  him,  as  the  kindliest  cli 
mate  could  have  engendered  and  put  together."  (From  Tristram  Shandy.) 


30  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


delightful  talker. 

Shortly  after  he  came  to  Walpole,  he  commenced  writing  in  a 
village  newspaper,  published  there  under  the  title  of  the  "Farmer's 
Museum,"  I  think.  His  articles  attracted  attention,  and  soon 
gained  for  the  paper  an  extensive  circulation.1  Colonel  Pickering, 
when  Secretary  of  State,  appointed  him  to  a  clerkship  in  that  depart 
ment,  the  duties  of  which  (as  I  understood)  were  to  superintend  and 
correct  any  inaccuracies  he  might  find  in  language  and  style  of  the 
correspondence  of  the  office.  With  this  appointment,  which  was 
made  on  the  recommendation  of  his  friends,  he  was  highly  gratified. 
But  his  miserable  habit  of  procrastination  prevented  his  going  on  to 
the  seat  of  government  till  Colonel  Pickering,  on  account  of  his 
misunderstanding  with  President  Adams,  had  quit  the  office.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  who,  finding  this  clerkship 
vacant,  and  being  informed  that  Mr.  Dennie  had  been  appointed  to 
it,  wrote  to  him  inquiring  whether  he  intended  to  accept  it.  He 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  promised  to  come  on  in  a  few  days. 
But  he  still  procrastinated,  till  Judge  Marshall,  under  the  influence 
of  kindly  feelings  toward  him,  wrote  again,  saying,  if  he  did  not 
make  his  appearance  by  a  certain  day  named,  the  place  must  be 
filled  by  a  new  appointment.  Poor  Dennie's  evil  genius  still  pre 
dominated;  the  day  passed  without  his  going  on,  and  the  place  was 
lost.  A  few  years  afterward  he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  he 
established  a  periodical  under  the  title  of  the  "Portfolio,"  which 
was  sustained  mainly  by  his  pen.  This  publication  had  a  broad 
circulation,  and  his  'writings  in  it  were  highly  esteemed  by  the 
most  competent  judges,  for  their  pure,  classical  taste.  He  found 
little  congeniality  among  the  Philadelphians ;  and,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  a  few  accomplished  women,  to  wnotn  he  allowed  great  deli- 

(31) 
cacy  of  taste,  he  utterly  denied  all  their  claim  to  any  kind  of  literary 

merit. 

After  suffering  severely  from  ill-health,  he  died  in  1811  or  1812. 
Royal  Tyler,  afterwards  Chief  Justice  of  Vermont,  at  the  time  of 

1  His  politics  were  in  the  highest  tone  of  the  Washington  Federal  school. 
His  articles  came  out  under  the  signature  of  "The  Lay  Preacher."  At  one  time 
he  had  a  fanciful  notion  of  taking  orders  in  the  Episcopal  Church.  He  officiated 
a  few  times  as  a  lay  reader  in  the  church  at  Claremont. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  31 


which  I  am  speaking  attracted  much  attention  in  that  part  of  the 
country.  He  was  graduated  in  Harvard  in  1776,  and  entered  at 
once,  with  great  zeal  and  zest,  into  the  dissipated  habits  and  man 
ners  which  at  that  time  characterized  the  young  men  of  Boston. 
Having  suffered  both  in  character  and  fortune,  he  removed  to  Guil- 
ford,  adjoining  Brattleborough,a  in  Vermont.  With  respectable 
natural  talents,  he  had  a  brilliant  wit  and  great  powers  for  amusing 
conversation.  He  moved  freely  in  the  society  of  young  men. 

Another  extraordinary  character  of  that  time  and  region  was 
John  W.  Blake  of  Brattleborough.  His  manners  were  easy,  grace 
ful,  and  most  agreeable.  He  was  fluent;  had  an  inexhaustible  fund 
of  anecdote,  which  made  him  an  enticing  and  pleasant  companion. 
But  he  was  ruined  by  dissipated  habits. 

Another  of  the  extraordinary  men  who  then  ranged  that  country, 
was  William  Coleman,1  afterwards  so  greatly  distinguished  as  the 
editor  of  the  "New  York  Evening  Post,"  under  the  patronage  of 
General  Hamilton,11  that  his  opponents  gave  him  the  title  of  Field 
Marshal  of  Federal  Editors.  He  was  of  very  humble  origin,  having 
been  born  in  the  Boston  poor-house.  By  great  industry  and  perse 
vering  diligence,  he  acquired  a  good  education.  As  a  lawyer  he  was 
respectable,  but  his  chief  excellence  consisted  in  a  critical  knowl 
edge  of  the  English  language,  and  the  adroit  management  of  polit 
ical  discussions.  His  paper  for  several  years  gave  the  leading  tone 
to  the  press  of  the  Federal  party.  His  acquaintances  were  often 
surprised  by  the  ability  of  some  of  his  editorial  articles,  which  were 
supposed  to  be  beyond  his  depth.  Having  a  convenient  oppor 
tunity,  I  asked  him  who  wrote,  or  aided  in  writing  those  articles. 
He  frankly  answered  that  he  made  no  secret  of  it;  that  his  paper 
was  set  up.  under  the  auspicies  of  General0  Hamilton,  and  that  he 
assisted  him.  I  then  asked,  "Does  he  write  in  your  paper?"  "Never 
a  word." — "How,  then,  does  he  assist?"  His  answer  was,  "When- 

a  Brattleborough,  a  city  of  about  6500.     Guilford  has  now  870  people. 

b  Alexander  Hamilton,  the  great  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  Washing 
ton,  was  but  5  feet  6  inches  in  height.  Aaron  Burr  said  of  his  power  with  the 
pen:  "Anyone  who  puts  himself  on  paper  with  Hamilton  is  lost." 

c  Greenfield  now  has  about  9910  people. 

1  He  lived  at  Greenfield0. 

(32) 


32  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


ever  anything  occurs  on  which  I  feel  the  want  of  information,  I  state 
the  matter  to  him,  sometimes  in  a  note.  He  appoints  a  time  when  I 
may  see  him,  usually  a  late  hour  of  the  evening.  He  always  keeps 
himself  minutely  informed  on  all  political  matters.  As  soon  as  I  see 
him,  he  begins  in  a  deliberate  manner  to  dictate,  and  I  to  note  down 
in  short-hand"  (he  was  a  good  stenographer)  ;  "when  he  stops  my 
article  is  completed."  At  that  time  the  first  and  ablest  men  in  the 
country  directed  the  course  of  the  political  press.  They  have  now 
withdrawn  from  it,  and  left  it  with  the  editors,  whose  chief  object  is 
pecuniary  profits.  This  accounts  for  the  difference  between  what  it 
was  then  and  is  now. 

In  the  autumn  of  1795,  being  in  Boston,  I  was  applied  to  by 
Oliver  Phelps,  the  great  land  speculator,  and  others  to  go  to  Vir 
ginia,  to  examine  into  the  circumstances  attending  a  contract  for  a 
large  tract  of  Virginia  land,  that  had  been  conditionally  entered 
into,  with  power  to  ratify  it,  if  I  deemed  expedient,  or  else  to  set  it 
aside  and  substitute  another  contract  in  its  stead.  The  passion  for 
land  speculation  at  that  time  ran  high.  I  had  had  no  previous 
knowledge  or  acquaintance  with  such  business,  and  did  not  feel 
competent  for  it.  A  liberal  compensation  was  promised  me,  and  I 
undertook  the  agency  and  set  out  on  my  journey.  When  I  got  to 
Philadelphia,  the  session  of  Congress  had  just  commenced,  and  I 
heard  President  Washington  deliver  his  speech.  He  was  in  full 
dress,  with  hair  in  bag,  and  side  arms  on,  and  seemed  to  me  better 
to  represent  dignity  and  majesty  than  any  one  I  had  ever  seen. 

At  Richmond  I  soon  ascertained  that  no  manner  of  reliance 
could  be  placed  on  the  performance  of  the  contract  I  was  to  inves 
tigate.  The  contractors  were  found  to  be  entirely  irresponsible. 
Of  course  I  declined  to  have  anything  to  do  with  them.  My  in 
structions  were,  if  that  contract  failed,  to  make  another  with  some 
responsible  person,  that  might  be  substituted  in  its  place.  For  this 
purpose  I  entered  into  a  negotiation  with  the  celebrated  General 

5  (33) 

Henry  Lee,  then  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  made  with  him  a  con 
ditional  contract.  This  made  me  much  acquainted  with  him. 
This  was  soon  after  he  had  commanded,  under  the  appointment  of 
General  Washington,  the  troops  called  out  for  the  suppression  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Whiskey  Insurrection,  when  he  was  at  the  height  of 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  33 


his  reputation.  He  was  remarkable  for  his  fine  manners  and  great 
address ;  was  a  gallant  soldier,  and  a  great  favorite  of  General  Wash 
ington.  The  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  was  then  in  session. 
The  country  was  much  excited  on  the  subject  of  Jay's  treaty  with 
Great  Britain,  and  the  debates  in  the  House  of  Burgesses,  as  they 
called  their  representatives,  were  exceedingly  ardent.  Washington, 
with  the  advice  of  the  Senate,  had  ratified  the  treaty.  Virginia 
was  opposed  to  it.  An  address  had  been  moved  complimentary  to 
General  Washington,  who  was  about  to  retire  from  the  presidency. 
Among  other  things,  it  mentioned  "the  wisdom  of  his  administra 
tion."  This  was  assailed  with  great  virulence ;  the  truth  of  the 
assertion  that  his  administration  had  been  wise  was  denied.  There 
was  a  great  display  of  metaphysical  hair-splitting  ingenuity  of  rea 
soning.  During  the  debate  I  dined  with  the  Governor,  with  a  large 
company,  consisting  of  the  leading  men  of  the  Legislature.  Know 
ing,  from  previous  conversation,  what  my  answer  would  be,  he  in 
quired  of  me  in  an  emphatic  manner,  that  brought  the  attention  of 
the  company  upon  me,  what  was  the  popular  opinion  in  New  Eng 
land  relating  to  the  treaty.  I  answered  that  the  first  impression  had 
been  unfavorable,  but  that  there  had  been  a  great  change  in  public 
opinion,  and  that  I  thought  a  majority  of  the  people  were  in  favor 
of  it.  The  vote  of  the  Boston  town  meeting,  almost  unanimous1 
against  the  treaty,  which  had  been  sent  to  General  Washington, 
was  cited  against  me.  I  had  no  answer  satisfactory  to  the  company. 
I  could  only  assert  that  the  Boston  town  meeting  was  no  better 
than  a  mob,  and  that  the  country  would  not  follow  it.  That  even 
ing  I  received  by  the  mail  a  New  Hampshire  newspaper,  containing 

(34) 
Governor    Gilman's    speech    to    the    Legislature,    and    their    answer 

approving  of  the  treaty  and  its  ratification  in  strong  terms.  I  was 
engaged  to  dine  the  next  day  at  another  place,  where  I  knew  I 
should  meet  most  of  the  same  company.  I  put  the  paper  in  my 
pocket,  and  took  the  first  opportunity  to  read  it,  and  told  them  they 
might  look  out  for  a  similar  declaration  from  the  Governor  and 
Legislature  of  Massachusetts  in  a  few  days.  I  felt  sustained  in  my 

1  Joseph  Hall,  since  Judge  of  Probate,  was  the  only  person  that  dared  speak 
in  favor  of  the  treaty,  and  I  have  heard  him  say  that  he  did  it  at  the  peril  of  his 
life.  The  meeting  was  in  Faneuil  Hall,  and  a  loud  cry  was  raised  to  throw  him 
out  of  the  window. 


34  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


opinion  of  the  previous  day,  and  the  friends  of  the  treaty  seemed 
much  gratified.  I  saw  a  good  deal  of  the  great  men  of  Virginia, 
and,  among  others,  became  somewhat  acquainted  with  Bushrod 
Washington,  afterwards  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  He  was  then  a  practicing  lawyer  in  Richmond. 
When  about  to  leave  Richmond,  I  was  requested  to  receive  a 
package  addressed  to  General  Washington,  and  deliver  it  to  him 
personally.  At  Philadelphia,  I  called  with  the  package  at  the 
President's  house,  and  inquired  for  Mr.  Dandridge,  his  private 
secretary,  who  showed  me  into  a  room,  saying  he  would  inform  the 
President.  In  a  few  minutes  General  Washington  entered  the 
room.  I  immediately  presented  the  package,  saying  I  had  received 
it  at  Richmond  with  directions  to  deliver  it  to  him.  He  pointed 
me  to  a  seat,  sat  down  himself,  and  opened  the  package  and  began 
reading.  He  soon  turned  to*wards  me  and  inquired  when  I  left  Rich 
mond,  and  when  it  was  expected  the  Virginia  Legislature  would 
rise.  He  then  said  something  about  New  Hampshire,  by  which  I 
saw  he  ha  \  learned  from  the  package  that  I  was  a  Yankee.  As  I 
rose  to  leave,  he  rose  and  asked  me  when  I  should  leave  the  city. 
I  answered  immediately,  and  made  my  best  bow.  As  I  rose  I  saw 
he  measured  my  height  with  his  eye.  I  stood  erect  to  give  him  the 
whole  of  it.  It  obviously  exceeded  his.  This  was  the  only  time  I 
ever  saw  General  Washington,  except  when  addressing  Congress. 
His  dress  was  quite  plain;  I  supposed  it  to  be  his  riding  dress. 
Long  boots,  corduroy  smalls,  speckled  red  jacket,  and  blue  coat 
with  yellow  buttons.  I  am  thus  minute,  because  I  deem  the  most 
trifling  circumstance  relating  to  him  interesting.  I  have  never 

(35) 
doubted  that  he  was  by  far  the  best  and  greatest  man  that  I  have 

ever  seen ;  as  a  public  man  he  approached  as  near  perfection  as  it 
is  possible  for  human  nature  to  do.  With  me  it  constitutes  one  of 
the  strongest  illustrations  of  the  innate  depravity  of  our  nature, 
that  a  large  portion  of  his  countrymen,  who,  without  his  aid,  would 
probably  never  have  had  an  independent  country,  reviled  him  when 
living,  and,  after  his  death,  when  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  whole 
civilized  world  compelled  them  to  acknowledge  his  virtues  and  his 
wisdom,  have  churlishly  and  foolishly  refused  to  follow  his  example 
or  his  precepts. 


AARON   BURR. 
(From  an  engraved  portrait  by  St.   Memin.) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  35 


I  was  in  the  House  of  Representatives  when  Mr.  Ames  made 
his  great  speech  on  the  British  treaty  negotiated  by  Mr.  Jay.  It 
was  a  most  masterly  display  of  the  highest  kind  of  eloquence.  Af 
ter  the  House  had  been  fagged  and  tired  almost  to  death  with  dis 
cussions  by  the  most  talented  men  in  the  nation,  and  nauseated  with 
the  subject,  he  revived  and  excited  the  highest  state  of  feeling  and 
was  heard  with  the  most  profound  interest..  Such  was  the  obvious 
effect  on  the  feelings  of  the  House,  that  on  his  sitting  dojwn  and 
nobody  rising  to  answer,  and  the  question  being  about  to  be  put, 
one  of  the  opposition  (I  think  Mr.  Giles)  moved  an  adjournment, 
saying  that  under  such  feelings,  the  House  was  incompetent  to  act 
wisely  or  safely.  I  afterward  had  the  good  fortune  of  seeing  and 
hearing  Mr.  Ames  converse  several  times.  All  who  knew  him  al 
lowed  him  to  be  the  most  delightful  man  in  the  world.  With  much 
genius,  he  had  the  purest  moral  and  critical  taste.  As  is  commonly 
the  case  with  men  of  high  powers  of  imagination,  he  dealt  little  with 
logical  reasoning,  but  leapt  to  his  conclusions,  as  it  would  seem, 
by  intuition. 

My  agency  in  Virginia  was  thought  by  those  interested  in  it, 
to  have  been  judiciously  executed.  It  made  me  acquainted  with 
many  of  the  land  jobbers,  who  were  then  numerous.  I  was  offered 
other  agencies,  and  urged  to  enter  extensively  into  the  business. 
At  first  I  thought  favorably  of  it,  and  agreed  to  undertake  several 

(36) 

agencies  in  land  sales.     But  I  soon  saw  enough  to  satisfy  me  that  it 
was  a  fallacious,  moonshine  business,  and  withdrew  entirely  from  it. 

I  had,  as  I  then  supposed,  acquired  considerable  profit  from  it, 
but  in  the  end  it  mostly  failed.  I  had  a  connection  with  Ephraim 
Kirby  of  Connecticut,  which  involved  me  in  a  troublesome  and 
expensive  litigation,  in  settlement  of  which  I  became  surety  for 
Kirby;  he  died  soon  after  insolvent,  and  I  was  obliged  to  pay  sev 
eral  thousand  dollars  to  get  rid  of  my  liability,  for  which  his  estate 
only  partially  indemnified  me.  This  drawback  nearly  balanced  my 
account  of  profits  in  land  agencies. 

(jBy  this  time  I  had  become  dissatisfied  with  my  situation  on 
Connecticut  river.  The  inhabitants  were  comparatively  poor.  I 
had  business  enough,  but  the  most  of  it  was  of  a  small  kind.  I 
wanted  a  broader  field  of  action,  and  to  be  nearer  the  great  world. 

—4 


36  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


I  felt  a  strong  liking  for  Boston,  but  considering  the  high  reputa 
tion  and  crowded  state  of  the  Boston  bar,  I  dared  not  attempt  to 
intrude  myself  on  them.  I  thought  very  seriously  of  going  to  New 
York.  Having  been  introduced  to  Colonel  Burr,  then  at  the  height 
of  his  reputation,  and  favorably  noticed  by  him,  I  explained  my  inten 
tion  to  him.  He,  with  much  apparent  sincerity,  strongly  advised  my 
coming  to  NeAv  York;  said  he  had  no  doubt  of  my  success,  and 
promised  me  his  patronage.  He  advised  me  at  all  events  to  quit  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire,  which  he  said  could  never  come  to  any 
thing;  that  New  York  would  soon  supplant  Virginia  and  govern 
the  Union.  I  knew  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  drawing  young  men 
round  him,  taking  them  under  his  patronage,  and  converting  them 
into  political  partisans.  This  greatly  lessened  the  influence  of  his 
advicjjTl 

^PtEought  favorably  of  Portsmouth, a  and  went  there  in  the  spring 
of  1797  on  a  visit  of  exploration.  Edward  St.  Loe  Livermore,  who 
had  been  at  the  head  of  the  Rockingham  bar,  had  just  accepted  a 
seat  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court.  This  made  a  fair  opening. 
The  other  professional  men  in  that  town  were  not  very  efficient.  Ports 
mouth  was  at  that  time  a  place  of  vastly  (37)  greater  comparative 
importance  than  at  present.  It  contained  many  highly  respectable 
families,  and  good  society  was  an  important  object  with  me.  I  had 
acquired  a  little  reputation  in  the  courts  of  New  Halmpshire,  and 
thought  I  could  take  a  share  of  business  at  Portsmouth,  and  seriously 
doubted  how  that  might  be  at  New  York.  I  knew  that  Judge  Smith 
was  about  resigning  his  place  in  Congress,  with  the  determination 
of  settling  himself  in  the  practice  at  Exeter.  I  did  not  consider  that 
any  objection  to  my  plan,  and  after  mature  consideration  I  removed 
to  Portsmouth  the  ensuing  summer. 

I  attended  the  autumn  courts  of  the  two  large  counties  of  Rock 
ingham  and  Stafford  in  1797,  then  containing  nearly  a  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  was  pretty  extensively  retained?! 

(38) 

a  Mason  moved  to  Portsmouth  rather  than  Boston,  in  1797,  believing  it  would 
eventually  be  the  larger  city  (see  p.  165,  this  work.)  Daniel  Webster  joined  him 
there,  ten  years  later,  in  1807,  moving  to  Boston  in  1816,  and  Mason  joined  Web 
ster  in  Boston,  in  1832. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  37 


CHAPTER  II. 

Remarks  on  the  Autobiography. — Mr.  Mason's  removal  to  Portsmouth. — His 
Marriage. — His  Professional  Success. — Appointed  Attorney  General  of  New 
Hampshire. — Friendship  with  Mr.  Webster. — Mr.  Lord's  Reminiscences. 

MR.  MASON'S  simple  and  characteristic  autobiography,  bring 
ing  the  record  of  his  life  down  to  1797,  leaves  little  to  be  said 
by  his  biographer,  either  in  addition  or  illustration.  He  was  correct 
in  his  belief  that  he  was  descended  from  Major  John  Mason,  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Connecticut,  distinguished  for  his  gallantry  and 
success  in  the  Pequot  War  in  1637.  His  third  and  youngest  son, 
Daniel,  was  the  grandfather  of  Mr.  Mason's  grandfather.1 

The  town  of  Lebanon/1  Mr.  Mason's  birthplace,  has  changed  but 
little  since  he  was  born.  Its  inhabitants  were  and  are  mostly  far 
mers,  neither  rich  nor  poor,  and  owning  the  land  which  they  till. 
It  is  a  good  specimen  of  the  agricultural  towns  in  New  England. 
On  this  point  I  am  able  to  speak  from  personal  observation,  for  in 
my  early  childhood  it  was  my  fortune  to  pass  nearly  two  years  there, 
in  the  family,  and  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev.  Zebulon  Ely,  of 
whom  Mr.  Mason  speaks.  I  well  remember  the  brick  school-house 
there,  for  I  have  sat  many  hours  on  its  benches,  attending  school  by 
day  and  religious  meetings  by  night;  and  I  heartily  agree  with  Mr. 

a  A  city  of  5,000  in  1900. 

1  There  was  a  missing  link  in  the  genealogy  of  the  Mason  family,  arising 
from  the  fact  that  Daniel  Mason,  son  of  Major  John  Mason,  in  the  Indian  troubles 
of  1676,  sent  his  wife,  for  her  expected  confinement,  to  her  friends  in  Roxbury, 
where  her  son  Daniel  was  born  in  February  of  that  year,  and  baptized  by  the 
Indian  apostle  Eliot.  This  was  discovered  by  the  researches  of  the  Rev.  G.  E. 
Ellis,  D.  D.,  which  service  Mr.  Mason  acknowledged  by  a  handsome  copy  of  an 
English  edition  of  the  Bible  in  quarto. 

The  farm  on  which  Mr.  Mason  was  born  was  given  to  his  ancestor  by  Uncas, 
chief  of  the  Mohegan  tribe,  and  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  family  till  1851. 

(39) 


38  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


Mason  in  condemning  the  bad  taste  which  destroyed  this  substan 
tial  and  serviceable  structure,  and  supplied  its  place  with  a  fabric 
of  wood. 

Mr.  Ely,  my  teacher,  was  one  of  those  old  school  New  England 
clergymen  of  whom  few  are  now  to  be  found,  and  those  only  in 
secluded  villages.  He  was  a  rigid  Calvinist  in  doctrine,  but  his 
natural  temper  was  kindly,  and  I  felt  for  him  the  love  which  cast- 
eth  out  fear.  I  suppose  his  attainments  to  have  been  moderate. 
He  could  have  had  but  small  Latin  and  less  Greek.  His  whole 
library,  as  I  recall  it,  might  have  been  transported  in  a  wheelbarrow. 
I  had  but  little  of  teaching  or  training  under  his  charge ;  but  he  gave 
me  a  knowledge  of  the  Bible  for  which  I  shall  ever  hold  his  memory 
in  grateful  reverence.  The  good  old  man  was  mighty  in  the  Scrip 
tures.  To  his  simple  faith  the  events  and  the  characters  of  the 
Bible  were  as  real  and  distinct  as  the  scenes  of  his  own  life  and  the 
men  and  women  of  his  own  parish.  There  was  no  cloud  of  doubt 
in  his  sky.  The  word  of  God  was  the  object  of  his  daily  and  rever 
ent  study,  and  not  only  his  sermons  but  his  letters  and  his  common 
speech  had  a  large  infusion  of  the  language  of  the  Bible. 

Upon  a  salary  of  less  than  five  hundred  dollars  a  year,a  aided  by 
a  small  farm  and  the  tuition  fees  of  a  few  pupils,  he  reared  a  family 
of  twelve  children,  and  left  a  comfortable  property  at  his  death. 
One  of  his  sons,  Rev.  Ezra  Stiles  Ely,  a  graduate  of  Yale  Col 
lege,  and  a  clergyman  in  Philadelphia,  was  a  man  of  some  note  in 
his  day,  and  has  been  saved  from  oblivion  by  a  few  lines  in  Alli- 
bones  "Dictionary." 

The  people  of  Lebanon  retained  in  my  time  the  traits  which  Mr. 
Mason  has  recorded  as  belonging  to  them  a  half  a  century  before. 
They  were  earnest  theologians,  cherishing  the  creed  of  the  early 
fathers  of  New  England,  with  lives  as  strict  as  their  doctrine  was 
austere.  Owing  to  the  influence  of  the  Trumbull  family,  which  had 
long  been  settled  there,  the  standard  of  cultivation  and  manners 

a  In  this  connection,  Theophilus  Parsons,  son  of  Judge  Theophilus  Parsons 
(1750-1813),  says  that  the  father  of.  Judge  Parsons,  Sr.,  was  a  preacher  in  a  small 
place,  Byfield,  Essex  Co.,  Mass.,  where  he  died  at  67,  in  1783;  brought  up  a  fam 
ily  of  seven,  upon  a  salary  of  $280  a  year,  educated  three  sons  at  Harvard,  and 
always  maintained  a  comfortable  and  hospitable  household.  (Memoir  of  Chief 
Justice  Parsons,  p.  14.) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  39 


was,  I  apprehend,  somewhat  higher  than  in  other  towns  of  the  same 

(40) 

class  in  that  region.  The  common  conversation  of  the  people  had 
a  strong  theological  flavor;  and  many  a  discussion  on  "fixed  fate, 
free-will,  foreknowledge  absolute,"  by  me  imperfectly  understood, 
have  I  heard  on  Mr.  Ely's  porch,  and  around  his  frugal  board. 

The  Sabbath,  beginning  at  sunset  on  Saturday  and  closing  at  the 
same  hour  on  Sunday,  was  kept  with  Jewish  or  Puritan  strictness. 
I  remember  being  reproved  one  Sunday,  just  at  the  close  of  day,  by 
one  of  Mr.  Ely's  daughters  for  throwing  a  stone,  and  reminded  that 
the  sun  was  not  set;  and  that,  child  as  I  was,  I  puzzled  myself  with 
the  inquiry  why  an  act  that  was  wrong  before  set  of  sun  was  right 
after  it. 

Mr.  Mason  was  in  his  thirtieth  year,  and  had  been  six  years  at 
the  bar  when  he  removed  to  Portsmouth.  He  had  found  sufficient 
professional  employment  from  the  start.  As  he  has  stated  in  his 
autobiography,  in  the  first  year  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  he 
had  entered  two  hundred  and  two  suits  at  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  two  hundred  and  forty-seven  in  the  second,  and  two  hundred 
and  fifty-seven  in  the  third ;  besides  a  large  number  returnable  be 
fore  justices  of  the  peace.  Most  of  these  were  probably  suits  for 
the  collection  of  money,  which  took  care  of  themselves  after  being 
once  entered  upon  the  docket.  This  was  the  usual  course  of  busi 
ness  in  those  days,  as  money  was  scarce,  and  debtors  were  willing 
to  pay  a  bill  of  costs  for  the  privilege  of  postponing  payment  a  term 
or  two. 

But  during  all  these  years  Mr.  Mason  had  been  a  diligent  stu 
dent  of  the  law.  Neither  the  allurements  of  pleasure,  nor  the 
attractions  of  society,  nor  the  charms  of  literature  had  had  power 
to  draw  him  away  from  his  law  books  in  the  hours  not  devoted  to 
the  business  of  his  clients.a  Thus  he  was  not  only  familiar  with  the 
practice  of  the  law,  but  he  had  laid  up  a  good  stock  of  sound  legal 

a  It  seems  that  Mr.  Mason  was  unlike  Daniel  Webster,  who  was  a  deep 
reader  of  general  literature,  and  that  the  "charm  of  literature,"  of  which  William 
Wirt  speaks  of  being  deprived,  never  lured  Mr.  Mason  from  the  dry  study  of  the 
law.  Note  Wirt's  lament  and  longing,  in  the  following:  "To  be  buried  in  law 
for  eight  or  ten  years,  without  the  power  of  opening  a  book  of  taste  for  a  single 
day!  O,  horrible!  horrible!  most  horrible!  O,  for  that  wealth  that  would  enable 
me  to  wander  at  large  through  the  fields  of  general  literature,  as  whim  or 


40  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


learning,  all  which  was  at  the  instant  command  of  a  mind  at  once 
powerful  and  ready.  He  was  abundantly  able  to  cope  with  any  of 
the  resident  lawyers  of  Portsmouth  and  its  vicinity;  nor  had  he 
occasion  to  shun  an  encounter  with  such  formidable  antagonists 
as  Jeremiah  Smith  of  Exeter,  or  Samuel  Dexter,  Theophilus  Par- 

(41) 

sons,  and  Joseph  Story  of  Massachusetts,  each  of  whom  was  some 
times  retained  against  him  in  important  cases. 

On  the  9th  day  of  November,  1799,  Mr.  Mason  was  married  to 
Miss  Mary  Means,a  daughter  of  Col.  Robert  Means  of  Amherst, 
New  Hampshire.  This  proved  a  union  of  rare  happiness,  securing 
to  him  what  a  hard-working  lawyer  so  much  needs,  the  life-long 
blessing  of  a  happy  home.  Mrs.  Mason  was  a  woman  of  excellent 
understanding,  of  much  gentleness  of  character,  and  winning  man 
ners.  As  a  wife  and  mother  she  could  not  be  surpassed.  Her  hus 
band  was  nowhere  so  happy  as  under  his  own  roof.  Often  obliged 
to  leave  home  in  obedience  to  the  calls  of  public  or  professional 
duty,  he  always  had  an  assurance  that  during  his  absence  his  house 
hold  would  be  watched  over  with  the  most  judicious  and  affectionate 
care.  He  was  given  to  hospitality,  and  Mrs.  Mason  received  and 
entertained  his  guests  with  a  simple  and  graceful  welcome  which 
was  the  natural  expression  of  a  kind  heart  and  an  amiable  temper. 

Mr.  Mason  was  fully  employed  in  professional  business  from  the 
moment  of  his  removal  to  Portsmouth;  and  after  the  elevation  to 
the  bench  of  his  friend  Jeremiah  Smith,  he  stood  confessedly  at 
the  head  of  the  bar  in  New  Hampshire,  and  soon  came  to  wield  a 
power  over  courts  and  juries  such  as  no  one  had  had  before  him, 
and  to  which  no  one  has  since  succeeded. 

In  1802  he  was  appointed  Attorney  General  of  the  State.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  add  that  the  duties  of  the  office  were  discharged 

feeling  might  direct  for  days  and  weeks  and  months  together,  and  thus  to  raise, 
enlighten  and  refine  my  mind  and  heart,  until  I  become  a  fit  inhabitant  for  those 
brighter  fields  of  light  that  lie  above  us."  (From  letter  to  Dabney  Carr,  Dec. 
17,  1810,— Wirt  was  then  38—1  Kennedy's  Life  of  Wirt,  262.) 

a  Mary  Means'  marriage  to  Mr.  Mason,  when  he  was  thirty-one,  gave  con 
trast,  as  he  was  6  feet  6  inches  in  height,  while  she  was  so  short  that  when 
walking  together,  she  tied  a  handkerchief  around  his  wrist  so  that  she  could 
reach  it.  She  survived  him  ten  years,  dying  in  1858.  (See  Art.  by  John  Chip- 
man  Gray,  3  Great  American  Lawyers,  36.)  Mr.  Mason  used  to  say  of  his  wife, 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  41 


by  him,  during  his  term  of  service,  with  marked  ability,  and  a  con 
scientious  regard  to  the  claims  alike  of  justice  and  humanity.  But 
he  doubtless  found  that  the  claims  of  a  public  trust  interfered  too 
much  with  the  demands  of  a  rapidly  increasing  private  practice ;  for 
at  the  end  of  three  or  four  years  he  resigned  the  post,  to  the  great 
regret  of  the  bench,  the  bar,  and  the  public. 

In  1807  Mr.  Webster  removed  from  Boscawen  to  Portsmouth, 
and  for  the  next  nine  years  divided  with  Mr.  Mason  the  leading 
business  of  the  State.  Their  acquaintance  had  begun  before  Mr. 
Webster  came  to  Portsmouth.  I  remember  distinctly  Mr.  Mason's 

(42) 

telling  me  of  his  first  meeting  with  his  eminent  friend.  The  for 
mer  had  been  retained  in  defense  of  a  man  of  some  social  position, 
charged  with  the  offense  of  passing  counterfeit  money,  if  I  remem 
ber  right,  or,  perhaps,  forgery.  He  was  expecting  to  meet  the  At 
torney  General,  whose  capacity  he  had  measured  and  knew ;  but 
when  the  case  was  reached,  a  young  man,  unknown  to  him,  rose, 
and  with  modest  self-possession,  asked  permission  to  conduct  the 
prosecution  on  behalf  of  the  government,  in  place  of  the  Attorney 
General,  unavoidably  absent.  This  proved  to  be  Mr.  Webster,  then 
recently  admitted  to  the  bar.  "I  soon  found,"  continued  Mr.  Ma 
son,  "that  I  had  a  more  wary  and  formidable  antagonist  to  deal 
with  than  the  official  representative  of  the  State,  and  never  did  Mr. 
Webster  show  more  judgment  and  ability  in  the  trial  of  a  case  than 
in  this."  He  did  not  prevail,  however,  for  Mr.  Mason's  client  was 
acquitted.  But  from  that  moment  Mr.  Mason  watched  with  inter 
est  the  progress  of  his  young  friend,  and  was  not  unprepared  for 
his  future  efforts  and  triumphs. 

As  a  general  rule,  Mr.  Mason  and  Mr.  Webster  were  retained 
on  opposite  sides  in  every  important  case  that  arose  in  the  region 
where  they  lived ;  and  it  is  a  fact  honorable  to  both  of  them  that 
this  constant  antagonism  did  not  prevent  their  being  intimate  friends, 
and  this,  too,  though  both  were  earnest  men,  and  would  hit  hard 

that  she  was  the  only  witness  from  whom  he  could  not  elicit,  by  cross-examina 
tion,  a  thing  she  did  not  wish  to  tell.  (This  anecdote  was  furnished  the  reviser 
of  this  edition,  by  Prof.  J.  M.  Crafts,  of  Boston,  a  grandson  of  Mr.  Mason.  The 
portraits  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mason,  during  their  early  married  life,  are  from 
paintings  owned  by  Prof.  Crafts,  and  were  reproduced  from  the  same,  especially 
for  this  work.)  Prof.  Crafts  died  in  June,  1917. 


42  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


when  the  interests  of  the  clients  so  required.  And  this  fact  is 
honorable  to  the  profession  of  the  law  itself,  the  aim  and  purpose  of 
which  are  to  present  the  conflicting  claims  of  men  to  the  reason  and 
conscience  of  a  disinterested  arbiter,  purged  from  the  blinding  and 
misleading  passions  of  the  parties  themselves.  Mr.  Webster  has  left 
on  record  acknowledgments  of  the  intellectual  advantage  he  derived 
from  thus  being  brought  early  in  life  into  such  close  relations  with 
a  mind  so  powerful  as  Mr.  Mason's,  and  so  admirably  disciplined  by 
the  study  and  practice  of  the  law. 

Mr.  Mason  was  fourteen  years  older  than  his  friend,  and  on  this 
account,  as  well  as  from  the  former's  commanding  position  at  the 
bar,  the  younger  man  naturally  looked  up  with  deference  to  the 

(43) 

elder.  And  from  the  intellectual  characteristics  of  the  two  men, 
Mr.  Mason  was  fitted  to  exercise  a  valuable  influence  over  his  younger 
friend.  Mr.  Webster  had  more  various  power  than  Mr.  Mason,  but 
the  latter  was  his  equal,  at  least,  in  logical  force,  and  his  superior 
in  legal  learning.  Mr.  Mason's  whole  mind  and  time  were  given 
to  the  law ;  not  so  Mr.  Webster's.  The  difference  between  them  may 
be  stated  thus:  Mr.  Mason  was  a  great  lawyer,  but  Mr.  Webster 
was  a  great  man  practicing  the  law.  Nor  had  the  latter  Mr.  Mason's 
love  of  labor  and  patience  in  legal  research ;  indeed,  Mr.  Webster's 
natural  temperament  was  rather  inclined  to  ease  and  averse  to  ex 
ertion.  It  required  a  strong  force  to  rouse  his  great  powers  into 
full  activity. 

Thus  it  was  of  much  service  to  him  to  be  for  so  many  years  con 
stantly  opposed  to  Mr.  Mason  in  professional  contests,  for  it  com 
pelled  him  to  work  hard,  to  be  ever  vigilant,  to  take  nothing  for 
granted,  to  be  always  prepared.  He  once  said  that  dig  as  deep  as 
one  might  in  the  study  and  preparation  of  a  case,  he  would  find 
that  Mr.  Mason  had  gone  deeper  stilla.  No  one  opposed  to  the  latter 
could  afford  to  be  indolent  or  negligent  or  superficial,  for  such  course 
would  make  shipwreck  of  his  client's  cause.  •  Mr.  Webster's  powers, 
especially  his  skill  and  ability  as  a  lawyer,  were  greatly  strengthened 

a  The  testimony  of  Mr.  Webster  is  everywhere  abundant  of  his  indebtedness 
to  Mr.  Mason,  and  his  opinion  of  Mason's  superiority  to  any  lawyer  he  had  ever 
known.  He  also  attributes  to  Mason  the  reformation  of  his  grandiloquent  style, 
in  his  younger  days. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  43 


by  the  robust  and  athletic  training  which  his  struggles  with  Mr. 
Mason  gave  him. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  residence  in  Portsmouth  to  the  date 
of  his  removal  to  Boston  in  1832,  Mr.  Mason's  life  flowed  on  in  a 
uniform  current,  varied  only  by  his  four  years'  service  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  from  1813  to  1817,  and  an  occasional  term  in 
the  Legislature  of  New  Hampshire.  It  was  a  life  of  arduous  and 
monotonous  professional  toil,  relieved  and  refreshed  by  the  cordial 
influence  of  a  happy  home,  and  the  exercise  of  a  wide  and  generous 
hospitality.  The  career  of  a  hard-working  lawyer  leaves  little  for  a 
biographer  to  record,  and  most  lawyers  are  themselves  quite  willing 
to  forget  their  professional  experiences  and  struggles  as  soon  as  the 

(44) 
heat  and  dust  of  the  fight  are  over. 

Mr.  John  P.  Lord,  who  was  a  student  in  Mr.  Mason's  office  for 
three  years,  at  a  time  when  it  was  full  of  business,  has  put  on  record 
his  recollections  of  his  teacher,  and  of  his  manner  of  life,  a  liberal 
extract  from  which  may  be  here  appropriately  introduced: — a 

"I  entered  the  law  office  of  the  late  Hon.  Jeremiah  Mason  of  Portsmouth, 
N.  H.,  as  a  pupil,  in  September,  1805,  and  continued  there  until  my  admission  to 

the  bar,  in  1808 His  office  was  overrun  with  clients,  coming  to  him 

to  write  special  contracts,  conveyances,  wills,  and  all  other  documents  which 
required  the  finishing  touch  of  a  lawyer,  as  well  as  for  all  sorts  of  legal  advice, 
to  commence  and  defend  suits  of  law,  and  for  other  purposes  in  the  line  of  his  pro 
fession.  His  charges  were  moderate,  even  for  that  day  and  place,  and  his  office 
business  would  have  been  very  lucrative  under  the  circumstances.  I  think  almost 
with  incredulity,  upon  the  office  labor  he  performed,  for  he  never  had  a  clerk, 
to  my  knowledge,  whom  he  would  trust  to  do  such  work.  The  number  of  original 
entries  he  made  at  every  session  of  court,  was  usually  more  than  that  of  all 
the  other  attorneys  in  Portsmouth  and  more  than  three  times  as  many  as  any 
other  lawyer  in  the  county;  and  he  was  employed  in  the  defense  of  every  im 
portant  suit.  During  my  clerkship,  Mr.  Mason  was  found  at  his  office  in  business 
hours,  morning,  afternoon,  and  evening,  unless  otherwise  prevented.  Between 
his  office  and  house,  there  was  no  half-way  place  for  gossip.  I  know  he  was 

a  There  is  nowhere  else  to  be  found  a  more  succinct  account  of  Mr.  Mason's 
methods  of  conducting  his  office  than  the  one  here  given  by  Mr.  Lord,  who  had 
an  abundance  of  knowledge  upon  that  subject,  as  the  three  years  in  Mr.  Mason's 
office  were  calculated  to  give  him. 


44  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


sometimes  accosted  in  the  street  by  certain  persons  for  a  legal  opinion,  gratis, 
but  he  used  to  request  them  politely  to  (?all  at  his  office,  and  he  would  hear  their 
case.  When  he  came  into  his  office,  mornings,  after  breakfast,  we  were  careful 
to  have  it  swept  and  purified  from  the  smoke  of  cigars,  for  young  men,  even 
in  those  days,  had  bad  habits.  He  used  every  morning  to  look  over  his  accounts 
and  books,  to  see  that  all  charges  for  the  day  preceding  had  been  entered.  He 
kept  a  day-book  and  ledger,  and  his  only  cash-book,  to  my  knowledge,  was  that 
with  the  bank,  which  he  kept  in  a  private  place.  Mr.  Mason  usually  spent  a 
short  time  to  converse  with  his  students,  about  their  studies,  to  ask  them  ques 
tions  in  reference  thereto,  and  to  direct  them  to  the  proper  books  and  authorities; 
and  at  all. other  times,  he  was  free  to  converse  with  them,  and  occasionally  to 
entertain  them  with  anecdotes  about  persons  and  things,  of  which  he  had  an 
exhaustless  stock.  He  required  us  to  hunt  up  authorities,  and  prepare  briefs 
of  special  cases.  But  the  office  was  usually  a  dull  place  to  all  callers,  except 
those  who  came  to  see  the  head  of  it.  It  never  was  a  place  for  outside  retailers 
of  news  or  gossip.  Mr.  Mason  was  particular  in  small  things,  especially  in  paying 
over  all  moneys  collected  by  him  for  others.  No  client  had  to  call  the  second 
time  for  his  money.  All  his  private  bills  were  paid  at  sight.  He  was  never 
short.  It  was  not  his  practice  to  loan  money  to  individuals  or  to  lend  his  name 
as  surety  or  indorser.  He  abhorred  the  custom,  then  familiar  with  attorneys, 
to  advance  money  on  notes,  accounts,  or  personal  property  lodged  as  collateral 
security,  deeming  it  disreputable  to  the  profession,  for  a  lawyer  to  act  as  (45) 
broker  or  banker.  Mr.  Mason  magnified  his  position  by  exerting  all  his  influence 
to  prevent  petty  litigation,  or  commencement  of  suits  upon  mere  quibbles,  or 
for  the  purpose  of  procrastination,  or  to  gratify  personal  vindictiveness,  or 
retaliation.  He  was  eminently  a  peace-maker,  and  was  instrumental  in  healing 
many  wounds,  and  in  preventing  the  useless  expenditure  of  money,  by  a  set  of 
litigants,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  annoying  lawyers,  to  aid  them  in  schemes 
of  malice  or  revenge.  Disputes,  disagreements,  and  differences  of  opinion  in 
contracts  and  insurance,  were  often  settled  at  that  time  by  arbitration.  Mr. 
Mason  was  employed  in  most  of  such  cases  which  occurred  as  counsel  for  one 
of  the  parties,  and  I  have  known  him  to  be  called  to  distant  towns  in  that  capacity. 
He  was  eminently  successful  in  this  field  of  professional  labor.  So  much  confi 
dence  was  placed  in  his  skill  and  ingenuity  by  referees,  that  their  awards  in  such 
cases  were  complimentary  to  him,  and  as  far  as  right  and  justice  availed,  Mr. 
Mason  never  lost  a  case.  I  had  occasion  to  consult  him  in  a  case  commenced 
shortly  after  my  admission  to  the  bar,  which  was  submitted  to  reference.  He 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  45 


told  me  how  to  proceed,  and  to  manage  it  myself.  But  I  had  not  the  courage,  as 
it  involved  a  large  sum  of  money.  Mr.  Mason  was  called  to  my  aid,  and  after 
one  of  the  ablest  arguments  by  the  opposing  counsel,  he  put  his  adversary  to 
shame,  and  recovered  an  award  in  favor  of  my  client,  which  was  deemed  a  victory, 
as  the  issues  were  doubtful.  The  sum  awarded  my  client  exceeded  $3,500,  and 
for  that  most  valuable  and  successful  effort  he  declined  to  take  a  fee,  out  of  friend 
ship  to  me.  The  renown  of  Mr.  Mason  as  a  lawyer  was  earned  in  open  court. 
This  was  the  field  of  his  glory.  He  had  great  power  with  the  Court;  for  he  was 
respectful,  lucid,  and  always  panoplied  with  a  well  prepared  legal  argument. 
When  he  addressed  the  jury  of  trials,  he  was  felicitous  in  presenting  the  strong 
points  of  his  case,  as  it  were,  in  a  nut-shell,  and  in  hiding  out  of  sight,  as  much 
as  possible,  the  strong  points  of  his  opponent's  case,  and  commenting  with  severi 
ty  upon  his  weak  points.  No  matter  what  the  case  was,  he  was  ready  for  trial, 
with  his  witnesses,  his  brief,  and  his  authorities  at  hand.  He  seemed  to  have  an 
intuitive  knowledge  of  character,  especally  jurors,  and  when  he  addressed  them, 
adapted  his  speech  to  their  comprehension,  their  judgment,  and  their  consciences. 
He  aimed  to  be  brief,  clear,  and  argumentative,  and  not  prosy,  florid,  and  declama 
tory.  His  words  told.  Mr.  Mason  was  learned  in  criminal  law.  He  was  the  first 
Attorney  General  in  the  State  who  comprehended  the  responsibilities  of  the  of 
fice.  His  predecessors,  as  I  heard,  lacked  knowledge.  There  was  confusion  in 
that  department  at  his  appointment.  He  purified  it.  His  labors  in  that  office 
were  herculean.  The  Supreme  Court  was  holden  in  every  county  of  the  State; 
and  his  official  duties  required  him  to  be  present  at  each  session  of  the  Court, 
when  the  Grand  Jury  was  also  in  session.  His  punctuality  was  proverbial.  As 
the  legal  adviser  and  organ  of  the  grand  inquest  of  the  county,  it  was  told  me 
that  he  frowned  upon  all  vexatious  combinations  to  procure  indictments,  as  had 
been  the  custom,  and  in  all  cases  brought  before  them,  counseled  the  jury  of  in 
quest  never  to  agree  upon  indictments  unless  the  (46)  evidence  of  guilt  would  lead 
to  conviction  by  the  jury  of  trial.  Hence  it  was  the  common  remark  of  the  lawyers, 
that  prisoners,  under  the  administration  of  the  Attorney  General,  had  a  small 
chance  of  escape  from  the  verdict  of  the  jury  of  trial.  It  was  said  the  vigilant 
Attorney  for  the  State  never  lost  a  case;  that  conviction  followed  indictment,  and 
that  punishment  was  the  consequence  of  guilt. 

(47) 


46  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Letter  to  Dr.  Appleton.  —  Politics  of  New  Hampshire.  —  Mr.  Mason  chosen  United 
States  Senator.  -  -  Residence  in  Washington  during  the  First  and  Second 
Sessions  of  the  Thirteenth  Congress.  --  Letters  to  Mrs.  Mason  and  to  Dr. 
Appleton. 

THE  Reverend  Jesse  Appleton,  D.  D.,  was  an  early  friend  and 
correspondent  of  Mr.  Mason's.  They  were  connections  as  well 
as  friends,  Mrs.  Appleton  and  Mrs.  Mason  being  sisters.  Dr.  Apple- 
ton  was  chosen  President  of  Bowdoin  College  in  1807  and  died  in 
1819,  at  the  age  of  forty-seven.  His  death  was  regarded  throughout 
New  England  as  a  heavy  blow  to  the  interests  of  religion,  education, 
and  literature.  Mr.  Mason  was  warmly  attached  to  him,  and  had 
the  highest  respect  for  his  character  and  capacity. 

Dr.  Appleton  had  probably  in  his  course  of  instruction  had  occa 
sion  to  consider  the  question  of  usury  and  usury  laws,  and  had 
written  to  his  friend  for  his  views  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Mason  re 
plies  in  a  letter  which  is  the  earliest  on  date  of  any  I  find  among  his 
papers. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  THE  REV.  JESSE  APPLETON,  D.  D. 

PORTSMOUTH,  August  12,  1811. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  know  I  ought  long  ago  to  have  answered  your 
letter  of  20  June:  not  well  knowing  how  to  do  it  is  the  reason 
of  the  delay.  I  think  it  probable  when  you  have  read  this  you  will 
be  convinced  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  reason. 

Theorists  have  often  doubted  the  policy  of  laws  against  usury. 
The  fact,  however,  that  such  laws  have  been  adopted  by  most  civ 
ilized  nations,  as  well  ancient  as  modern,  is  of  itself  strong  evidence 
of  their  practical  utility. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  47 


The  protection  of  the  poor  from  oppression  (which  you  mention) 

(48) 
is  doubtless  one,  but  I  think  not  the  principal  object  of  these  laws. 

Such  laws  have  been  in  use  in  many  countries  where  the  rights  of 
the  poor  were  little  respected. 

The  principal  object  has  been  said  to  be  to  induce  the  rich  cap 
italist  to  use  his  own  stock  and  be  industrious.  It  is  more  advan 
tageous  to  society  that  the  rich  capitalist  should  use  his  own  indus 
try  in  the  employment  of  his  stock,  than  that  he  should  sit  idle 
and  take  the  benefit  of  the  industry  of  others.  The  loan  of  money 
therefore  at  a  high  rate  of  interest,  which  would  encourage  the 
capitalist  to  be  idle,  has  always  been  discouraged. 

A  nation  has  only  a  limited  quantity  of  capital  stock  on  which 
to  employ  the  labor  of  all  its  citizens ;  without  lands  for  the  hus 
bandman,  or  materials  for  the  mechanic,  there  would  be  no  labor. 
This  capital  stock,  whether  consisting  in  lands  or  personal  chattels, 
will  for  obvious  reasons  be  possessed  by  individuals  in  very  unequal 
portions.  The  object  to  be  attained  is  such  a  distribution  of  it  as 
will  afford  the  greatest  incitement  to  productive  labor,  and  thereby 
give  the  greatest  increase  of  the  capital  stock.  The  increase  is  the 
joint  product  of  the  stock  and  the  labor  bestowed  on  it.  The  bor 
rower  wants  to  obtain  stock  on  which  he  can  bestow  his  labor  with 
profit.  The  money  received  in  the  loan  is  merely  the  instrument 
which  conveys  a  right  to  a  certain  portion  of  capital  stock.  A  me 
chanic  who  hires  money  to  purchase  the  materials  he  wants,  finds  the 
money  to  be  only  an  efficient  order  for  the  materials.  He  might  as 
well  hire  the  materials  of  the  money-lender,  if  he  had  them.  The 
rate  of  interest  of  money  therefore  regulates  the  rate  of  hire  of  all 
other  property.  A  prohibition  to  take  any  interest  would  generally 
prevent  loans.  Were  benevolence  to  form  the  only  motive,  the  fear 
of  loss  would  prevent,  or  too  much  restrict  lending.  This  prohibi 
tion,  which  was  taken  from  the  Mosaic  code,  and  adopted  in  times 
of  monkish  superstition  in  England  and  most  other  countries  of 
Europe,  is  now  universally  exploded.  Under  certain  circumstances 
lending  is  beneficial  to  both  the  parties  concerned  and  also  to  the  pub 
lic.  When  (49)  the  capitalist  has  more  stock  than  he  can  manage  to 
profit  by  his  own  industry,  he  ought  to  lend  that  part  which  he  can- 


48  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


not  employ  to  advantage,  and  that  part  only.  If  he  lends  the  whole 
he  must  become  idle  himself. 

Idleness  in  the  rich  is  as  detrimental  to  society  as  idleness  in 
the  poor.  When  the  rich  capitalist  can  by  lending  his  stock 
obtain  as  much  profit  as  he  can  by  retaining  it,  and  bestowing  his 
own  industry  on  it,  he  will  lend  the  whole  and  become  an  idle 
drone  living  on  the  industry  of  others.  The  man  who  lives  on 
the  interest  paid  for  his  loans,  is,  as  it  respects  the  increase  of 
national  wealth,  a  dead  tax  on  society.  Hence  good  policy  requires 
that  the  rate  of  interest  should  be  such  as  will  induce  the  capitalist 
to  lend  the  surplus  only  of  his  stock  which  he  cannot  himself  employ 
to  profit,  and  the  industrious  laborer  to  hire  it  and  thereby  make 
profit  by  his  labor.  A  moderate  rate  of  interest  will  induce  the 
capitalist  to  lend  his  surplus,  which  if  retained  by  him  will  give 
no  profit.  The  danger  is  that  the  rate  of  interest,  unless  restrained 
by  law,  will  be  too  high,  more  especially  in  poor  countries  where 
there  is  more  ability  to  labor  than  stock  to  employ  it.  If  the  rate 
of  interest  is  so  high  as  to  take  the  whole  or  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  product  of  the  stock  hired  and  labor  bestowed  on  it,  there  will 
be  no  inducement  to  hire,  and  the  laborer  will  become  indolent.  In 
rich  countries  there  being  a  superabundance  of  stock,  and  conse 
quently  less  profit  from  the  employment  of  it,  the  rate  of  interest 
usually  is,  and  ought  to  be  low,  and  in  poor  countries  it  ought  to  be 
higher;  otherwise  there  will  be  no  loans. 

The  laws  against  usury  limit  the  highest  rate  of  interest  for  which 
loans  may  be  made.  These  doubtless  tend  to  keep  down  the  rate 
of  interest,  unless  the  legal  rate  is  fixed  greatly  below  the  market 
rate.  If  the  difference  is  very  great  it  will  induce  the  lender  to 
attempt  evasions  of  the  law,  and  to  seek  indemnity  for  the  risk  he 
runs  by  the  enhanced  rate  stipulated  for.  The  legal  rate  ought  to 
be  nearly  the  same  with  the  market  rate,  or  the  rate  it  would  fix 
at  if  not  regulated  by  law.  This  market  rate  must  be  gathered 

(50) 
from  the  average  given  by  prudent  persons,  on  good  security,  with 

ordinary  prospects  of  profits.  And  the  law,  by  fixing  this  rate,  pre 
vents  loans  on  bad  security,  which  is  commonly  injurious  to  the 
public  as  well  as  to  the  lender;  for  if  the  rate  of  interest  is  the 
same,  the  good  security  will  be  preferred.  The  persons  who  are 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  49 


willing  to  hire  at  an  extravagant  rate  of  interest  are  sometimes  the 
poor  and  distressed,  but  more  often  the  prodigal  and  the  sanguine 
projector,  forming  wild  projects  of  gain  which  are  generally  injuri 
ous  to  society.  If  they  were  permitted  to  hire  at  what  rate  they 
pleased,  they  would  greatly  enhance  the  market  rate,  and  thus  pre 
vent  others  more  prudent  from  obtaining  loans  on  moderate  terms. 

The  market  rate  in  many  countries  has  often  been  below  the 
legal  rate.  In  Holland,  before  the  late  revolution  there,  the  rate 
fixed  by  law  was  four  per  cent.  Yet  loans  were  effected  there  on 
governmental  security  at  two  per  cent.,  and  on  private  security  at 
three  per  cent.  In  England,  where  the  legal  rate  was  formerly  fif 
teen  and  afterwards  ten  per  cent.,  and  is  now  five  per  cent.,  loans 
have  been  had  by  Government  at  three  per  cent.,  and  by  individuals 
at  four  per  cent.  In  those  countries  there  was  a  great  abundance 
of  capital. 

In  some  of  the  United  States — New  York  and  South  Carolina 
—the  legal  rate  is  seven  per  cent.  Loans  have  often  been  made  in 
New  York  at  six  per  cent.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  in  the 
large  towns  of  the  United  States  generally,  the  market  rate  is  not 
over  six  per  cent.  The  three  per  cent,  stock  of  the  United  States 
has  usually  sold  for  more  than  sixty  per  cent.  This  is  our  most 
permanent  stock  and  consequently  is  best  esteemed.  Our  Govern 
ment  have  generally  hired  what  they  wanted  at  six  per  cent.,  re 
deemable  at  a  short  period;  and  I  am  told  they  had  one  loan  of  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States  at  five  per  cent. 

In  remote  and  poor  parts  of  the  country  the  market  rate  is  prob 
ably  above  six  per  cent ;  but  this  is  owing  in  a  great  measure  to  the 
insufficiency  of  the  security  given.  Moneyed  men  in  such  parts  of 

(51) 
the  country  who  are  hi  the  habit  of  lending  always  complain  of  their 

frequent  losses. 

We  have  agreed  with  Dr.  Coffin  to  take  the  charge  of  our  Acad 
emy.  I  hope  and  believe  it  will  prove  fortunate  for  us. 

Last  Sunday  Dr.  Griffin  preached  a  charity  sermon  here  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Female  Asylum.  The  sermon  was  very  long,  and  yet 
by  most  of  the  hearers  said  to  be  very  eloquent. 

We  expect  to  see  you  after  your  Commencement,  in  which  I  hope 


50  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


we  shall  not  be  disappointed.     I  am  sincerely  yours, 

JERE.  MASON. 

Down  to  the  year  1805,  New  Hampshire  was  a  Federal  State: 
but  in  that  year,  after  an  exciting  contest,  the  Republican  party 
prevailed,  choosing  a  governor,  and  carrying  every  branch  of  the 
State  government  by  a  majority  of  nearly  four  thousand.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  year,  the  Senators  in  Congress  were  William 
Plumer  and  Simon  Olcott;  but  the  latter's  term  of  service  expired 
in  March,  and  Nicholas  Oilman,  a  Republican,  was  chosen  in  his 
place.  As  he  was  the  first  Republican  who  had  represented  New 
Hampshire  in  either  House  of  Congress,  his  election  was  naturally 
hailed  with  much  triumph  by  his  party. 

In  August,  1806,  five  Republican  members  of  Congress  were 
chosen,  and  a  few  months  later,  Nahum  Parker,,  a  Republican,  was 
chosen  Senator  to  succeed  William  Plumer,  whose  term  of  service 
had  expired. 

In  the  spring  election  in  1808  for  State  officers,  the  Republican 
party  retained  their  ascendancy,  choosing  a  Legislature  which  sus 
tained  the  policy  of  President  Jefferson,  adopting  an  address  to 
that  effect;  but  in  the  national  election  in  the  autumn,  the  tide  of 
politics  turned,  and  the  Federal  party  prevailed ;  choosing  five  mem 
bers  of  Congress,  and  presidential  electors  who  gave  the  vote  of  the 
State  to  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney,a  the  unsuccessful  rival  of 
Madison  in  the  contest  for  the  presidency. 

In  the  State  election  of  the  spring  of  1809,  the  Federal  party  tri- 

(52) 
umphed,  but  by  a  very  small  majority;  but  the  next  year  restored 

a  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney  (1746-1825).  American  statesman,  born  at 
Charleston,  S.  C.  He  was  educated  at  Oxford,  England,  studied  for  the  bar 
at  the  Middle  Temple,  London,  and  afterward  at  the  Royal  Military  Academy  in 
Caen,  France,  returning  to  practice  law  in  Charleston,  in  1769.  Became  Attor 
ney-General  of  the  Province  and  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  in 
1775.  Was  a  brigadier-general  in  the  Revolution;  member  of  the  Convention 
that  framed  the  Federal  Constitution;  minister  with  Marshall  and  Gerry  in 
France,  in  1797,  and,  when  Talleyrand  demanded  $240,000  as  a  condition  before 
beginning  negotiations,  uttered  those  immortal  words, — "Millions  for  defense, 
but  not  one  cent  for  tribute."  He  was  candidate  for  President  against  Jeffer 
son  in  1804,  and  against  Madison  in  1808. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  51 


the  Republican  party  to  power;  and  Nahum  Parker  having  re 
signed  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  Charles  Cutts,  a  Republican,  was 
chosen  in  his  place.  Of  the  five  members  chosen  to  Congress  in 
the  autumn  of  1810,  four  were  Republicans. 

Thus  it  was  evident  that  in  New  Hampshire  parties  were  pretty 
equally  divided,  and  neither  could  afford  to  be  careless  or  indolent. 
Each  was  obliged  to  select  good  candidates,  and  to  work  hard  in 
their  behalf.  The  result  being  doubtful,  elections  were  watched 
with  lively  interest,  and  the  full  strength  of  each  party  was  brought 
out.  But  of  wealth,  influence,  social  position,  and  education  the 
Federal  party  had  a  larger  share  than  its  rival.  The  clergy  had 
more  power  over  public  opinion  then  than  now,  and  the  clergymen 
of  New  Hampshire,  as  of  all  New  England,  were  generally  Feder 
alists,  not  only  disliking  the  politics  of  Jefferson,  but  hating  him 
personally,  on  account  of  his  heterodoxy  in  religion,  with  all  the  ran 
cor  of  theological  hatred. 

The  State  election  of  1811  was  favorable  to  the  Republicans,  as 
was  that  of  1812;  but  the  latter  after  a  close  contest,  and  by  a  very 
small  majority. 

War  against  Great  Britain  was  declared  in  1812,  and  this  too 
was  the  year  for  the  choice  of  presidential  electors.  The  autumn 
election  for  national  officers  was  from  these  causes  contested  with 
peculiar  earnestness.  Each  party  put  forth  all  its  strength,  and 
after  a  hot  conflict  the  Federal  party  prevailed,  choosing  the  elec 
tors  of  president  and  the  members  for  the  Thirteenth  Congress. 
Among  these  latter  was  Mr.  Webster,  who  had  become  widely  and 
favorably  known  by  'The  Rockingham  Memorial,"  in  opposition 
to  the  war,  published  in  August,  1812.'  a 

(53) 

a  Webster  was  but  thirty  years  of  age,  at  this  time,  had  been  but  seven 
years  at  the  bar,  and  a  resident  of  Portsmouth  five  years,  having  removed 
there  from  Boscawen,  in  Sept.,  1807. 

1  Mr.  George  Bristow,  in  his  History  of  New  Hampshire,  published  in  1842, 
with  a  strong  Republican  bias,  attributes  the  success  of  the  Federalists  in  the 
election  after  the  war  had  begun,  to  the  fact  that  so  many  -Republicans  were 
away  from  home,  serving  in  the  army  or  navy.  See  Barstow's  History  of  New 
Hampshire,  page  363.  This  may  be  true  in  part,  but  much  was  also  due  to  the 
influence  of  the  embargo  and  non-intercourse  acts  of  the  administration  of  Jef 
ferson  and  Madison,  which  bore  hard  upon  the  maritime  population  of  New 
—5 


52  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


The  spring  election  of  1813  for  State  officers  was  contested  with 
great  earnestness,  for  the  Legislature  to  be  chosen  would  be  called 
upon  to  elect  a  United  States  Senator  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Cutts, 
whose  term  of  service  expired.  The  Federal  party  carried  the  State, 
and  of  course  a  Federal  Legislature  was  chosen,  and  the  election  of 
a  Federal  Senator  was  secured. 

The  first  choice  of  the  Legislature  fell  upon  Dr.  John  Goddard, 
a  merchant  of  Portsmouth,  originally  a  physician,  a  man  of  ability 
and  high  character;  but  having  no  taste  for  public  life,  he  declined 
the  honor.  This  incident  curiously  illustrates  the  difference  be 
tween  that  time  and  the  present.  It  is  doubtless  possible  today 
to  find  men  to  whom  so  brilliant  a  position  as  a  seat  in  the  United 
States  Senate  presents  no  attractions,  but  it  may  be  pronounced  a 
moral  impossibility  that  a  man  should  be  chosen  to  the  Senate  with 
out  its  previously  being  known  whether  he  would  accept  the  trust.1 

The  Legislature  next  made  choice  of  Mr.  Mason.  He  has  left 
nothing  on  record  upon  the  subject,  but  we  presume  that  in  accept 
ing  the  trust  he  acted  from  a  sense  of  duty,  feeling  that  the  office 
was  neither  to  be  sought  nor  declined.  He  was  no  politician,  in 
the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  term,  and  no  aspirant  for  political 
distinction ;  but  he  took  a  keen  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  was 
a  patriot  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  He  was  a  strong  Federal 
ist,  alike  from  conviction  and  feeling.  He  had  the  highest  rever 
ence  for  the  character  and  principles  of  Washington,  and  an  equal 
gratitude  for  the  inestimable  services  he  had  rendered  to  the  coun 
try.  His  political  opinions,  though  never  obtruded,  were  always  ex 
pressed,  when  the  occasion  required  it,  with  a  frankness  and  fullness 
which  left  no  doubt  in  the  hearer's  mind  as  to  his  position  and  views. 

In  selecting  Mr.  Mason,  the  Legislature  of  New  Hampshire  acted 
wisely.  In  general  ability  he  had  no  equal  in  the  State,  except  Mr.. 

England,  and  threw  many  out  of  employment.     A  man  can  hardly  be  expected 
to  vote  for  a  party  which  takes  the  bread  out  of  his  mouth. 

1  Since  writing  the  above  I  have  been  told  that  some  at  least  of  those  who 
voted  for  Dr.  Goddard  knew  that  he  would  not  accept,  and  that  his  election  was 
a  feint  to  secure  that  of  Mr.  Mason.  There  were  political  managers  and  wire 
pullers  in  those  days  as  there  are  now.  Dr.  Goddard  had  been  a  leading  Repub 
lican,  but  being  an  opponent  of  the  war  he  had  joined  the  Federalists,  or  at  least 
acted  with  them. 

(54) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  53 


Webster,  who,  as  before  stated,  was  already  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  by  popular  election.  Mr.  Mason  was  also  from 
his  judgment  and  prudence  peculiarly  fitted  for  public  office  in  times 
when  party  spirit  ran  high,  as  it  did  then.  There  was  nothing  impas 
sioned  in  his  temperament  or  fanatical  in  his  understanding.  His 
mind  was  judicial  in  its  tone,  and  he  had  no  taste  for  extreme  prop 
ositions  or  extreme  measures.  His  self-control  was  perfect,  and  he 
was  not  one  of  those  unlucky  speakers  who  say  things  in  haste  and 
repent  of  them  at  leisure.  There  were  some  Federalists  in  New 
England  whose  vehement  opposition  to  the  war  carried  them  be 
yond  the  bounds  alike  of  prudence  and  patriotism,  but  Mr.  Mason 
was  not  one  of  these ;  nor  was  his  friend  Mr.  Webster.  Their  course 
illustrated  the  proper  functions  of  an  opposition  in  time  of  war, 
under  a  constitutional  government. 

The  Thirteenth  Congress,  in  conformity  with  a  law  passed  at  the 
previous  session,  assembled  on  the  24th  of  May,  1813.  Mr.  Gilman 
and  Mr.  Cutts  appeared  as  Senators  from  New  Hampshire,  the  latter 
whose  term  of  service  had  expired  on  the  4th  of  March,  having  been 
appointed  by  the  Governor  of  New  Hampshire  to  fill  the  seat  until 
a  choice  by  the  Legislature. 

Mr.  Mason  was  elected  on  the  10th  of  June,  and  immediately  set 
out  for  Washington.  Two  of  his  letters  to  his  wife,  written  on  the 
road,  will  enable  the  reader  to  measure  the  delays  and  discomforts  of 
travelling  in  those  days. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

HARTFORD,  Sunday  Afternoon,  June  13,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  have  got  on  thus  far  prosperously,  though 
with  considerable  fatigue.  I  suppose  Mr.  Fales  told  you  that  at 
North  Hampton,  I  hired  an  honest  sea-captain  to  give  me  his  seat 
in  the  stage,  and  to  accept  for  himself  a  seat  with  the  coachman. 
We  arrived  at  Boston  about  ten  o'clock.  On  inquiry  at  the  stage 
house,  respecting  the  stages  which  were  to  start  for  the  South  next 
morning,  I  could  get  no  information.  No  stages  started  from  that 

(55) 
house  for  the  South.     The  bar-tender,  who  was  half  asleep,  told  me 

of  three  houses — from  one  of  which  he   said   the  Southern   stage 


54  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


would  start  the  next  morning.  I  tried  to  make  him  go  and  inquire 
for  me,  but  this  he  flatly  refused.  I  went  myself,  and  at  the  first 
house,  after  knocking  at  the  door  at  least  five  minutes,  was  told 
from  a  window  in  the  third  story  that  I  was  at  the  wrong  house.  I 
then  went  a  considerable  distance  to  the  next  house  I  was  directed 
to,  and  after  a  long  knocking,  got  in  and  was  told  I  might  have  a 
seat  in  the  mail  stage,  if  I  would  be  there  exactly  at  four  o'clock— 
that  I  could  have  no  bed,  but  might  lie  on  the  floor  if  I  pleased. 
Not  liking  that,  I  went  back  to  the  first  stage  house,  and  there  pro 
cured  a  bed  about  as  wide  as  I  am,  but  not  much  more  than  half  as 
long.  There  were  four  more  in  the  same  small  chamber,  with  a  lusty 
snorer  in  each.  Having  bribed  the  bar-tender  to  call  me  before  the 
appointed  time,  and  extended  my  bed  with  the  addition  of  a  chair  I 
took  possession  of  it  a  little  after  two  o'clock.  I  was  about  getting 
asleep,  when  I  was  called  up,  and  after  waiting  in  the  street  nearly 
an  hour,  got  into  the  stage  and  arrived  at  Springfield,  a  little  after 
one  o'clock  last  night.  There  I  stopped  and  went  to  bed.  The  stage 
went  on  and  will  make  no  stop  till  it  arrives  at  New  York.  This 
forenoon  I  came  in  a  chaise  from  Springfield  to  this  place.  Tomor 
row  morning  at  four  o'clock,  I  shall  set  out  in  a  new  line  of  stages 
which  runs  from  here  to  Mount  Pleasant  on  the  Hudson  River  thirty 
miles  above  New  York.  From  Mount  Pleasant  I  shall  go  down  to 
New  York  in  a  packet-boat.  This  is  better  than  the  usual  route,  in 
which  I  should  have  to  ride  all  one  night,  or  again  leave  the  stage  and 
get  on  by  a  private  conveyance.  How  I  shall  go  on  from  New  York  I 
have  not  determined,  but  I  think  I  shall  take  the  steamboat  to  Bruns 
wick.  This  much  for  the  beginning  of  the  journey  of  honor.  Though 
somewhat  tried,  my  constitution  seems  to  bear  it  pretty  well.  I 
have  as  yet  experienced  no  trouble,  except  what  arises  from  my  own 
petulance,  which  is  somewhat  subject  to  be  excited  by  the  unlucky 
incidents  of  rapid  travelling.  .  .  .  Yours  affectionately, 

JEREMIAH  MASON. 

(56) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  55 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

BALTIMORE3,  Saturday,  19th  June,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  wrote  you  from  Philadelphia  on  Wednes 
day  evening.  The  next  morning  I  continued  my  journey  in  the 
mail  stage  to  Havre  de  Grace,  seventy  miles,  where  I  left  it,  and 
came  here  yesterday  in  another  stage.  The  thunder-storm,  which 
was  very  severe,  had  no  effect  in  cooling  the  air,  as  I  expected. 
The  weather  since  has  been  more  intensely  warm  than  before. 
The  storm  was  exceedingly  violent,  and  extended  forty  miles  this 
side  Philadelphia.  I  noticed  in  the  road  many  large  forest  trees 
torn  up.  I  heard  of  two  stages  which  were  out  through  the  storm, 
full  of  passengers.  One,  in  the  midst  of  a  wood,  was  in  imminent 
danger  from  the  falling  trees,  and  was  detained  several  hours  after 
the  storm  was  over  before  the  trees  could  be  cleared  away,  which 
fell  across  the  road.  Last  evening  there  was  a  very  violent  gust  of 
wind  in  this  place,  nearly  equal  to  that  in  Philadelphia,  but  attended 
with  little  rain.  I  hope  these  storms  are  not  ominous  of  other  storms 
in  the  voyage  I  have  set  out  on;  and  if  storms  of  another  kind  do 
arrive  I  hope  I  shall  be  equally  fortunate  in  avoiding  them.  I  have 
been  considerably  oppressed  with  the  heat,  and  tarry  home  today 
to  recruit.  I  now  feel  pretty  well,  and  do  not  fear  any  injury  from 
the  heat  or  fatigue.  I  am  at  Gadsby's  inn,  which  seems  to  be  the 
most  extensive  and  perfect  establishment  of  the  kind  I  have  ever 
seen.  On  inquiring  for  a  bath  I  found  a  most  excellent  one  in  the 
house.  It  is  quite  necessary  after  the  violent  exercise  of  travelling 
in  this  warm,  sultry  weather;  I  have  used  it  twice.  I  could  well 
enough  have  gone  on  to  Washington  today  if  it  had  been  in  any 
way  necessary.  But  I  thought  it  best  to  take  a  day's  rest,  which 
affords  me  an  opportunity  of  getting  a  few  articles  of  thin  dress 
which  I  have  wanted.  There  is,  doubtless,  much  difference  in  the 
degree  of  heat  here  and  at  Portsmouth.  I  eat  green  peas  at  New 
York,  where  they  had  been  more  than  a  week.  At  Philadelphia 
the  cherries  and  strawberries  were  in  perfection;  all  the  way  this 

(57) 

a  It  will  be  observed  that  Mr.  Mason  was  six  days  journeying  from  Hart 
ford,  Conn.,  to  Baltimore,  Md. 
8 


56  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


side  of  Philadelphia  I  have  seen  cherries  in  great  abundance.  1 
shall  go  on  to  Washington  tomorrow  morning  in  a  private  carriage, 
if  one  can  be  had  on  reasonable  terms.  A  Mr.  Bowers,  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  New  York,  this  forenoon  ap 
plied  to  me  to  take  a  carriage  with  him,  saying  he  would  find  two 
other  persons  to  join  in  same.  I  consented,  if  he  can  effect  it.  It 
does  not  much  increase  the  expense,  and  will  prevent  being  crowded, 
which  is  very  unpleasant  in  this  weather.  The  distance  is  only  forty 
miles.  I  consider  the  journey  past.  I  am  told  they  talk  at  Wash 
ington  of  having  a  longer  session  than  was  expected.  I  do  not 
believe  it  will  last  through  July.  Mr.  Webster  has  brought  forward 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  a  motion  calling  on  the  President 
for  information  respecting  our  relations  with  France  (which  you 
have  or  will  see  in  the  newspapers),  on  which  there  has  been  some 
warm  debating. 

I  have  come  on  just  as  I  told  you  I  intended,  without  inquiring 
for,  looking  for,  or  seeing  anybody.  What  is  a  little  singular,  ex 
cept  at  Newburyport,  I  have  not  on  my  whole  journey  seen  a  single 
person  I  knew.  I  have  seen  several  who  knew  me.  I  have  till 
yesterday  been  at  no  place  where  I  could  see  anybody.  I  arrived 
here  just  before  dinner  time,  and  dined  at  an  ordinary  with  perhaps 
sixty  or  eighty  strangers.  This  afternoon  I  intend  to  go  out  and 
see  the  town,  of  the  form  of  which  at  present  I  have  a  very  imper 
fect  idea.  At  Washington  I  expect  letters  from  you. 

Yours,  J.  MASON. 

He  took  his  seat  on  the  21st  of  June.  Two  days  after  he  thus 
wrote  to  his  wife  :— 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  June  23,  1813. 

I  wrote  you  a  few  lines  the  day  before  yesterday,  just  after  I  had 
taken  my  seat  in  the  Senate.  Though  there  would  seem  to  be 

(58) 

nothing  in  a  person's  walking  into  a  room,  taking  an  oath  which 
he  has  taken  half  a  dozen  times  before,  calculated  to  disturb  or 
discompose  him;  yet,  I  assure  you,  I  felt  a  little  awkward,  and 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  57 


when  I  wrote  to  you,  which  was  a  few  minutes  after,  I  scarcely  knew 
what  I  wrote.  I  have  since  received  your  letter  of  the  16th  instant, 
inclosing  the  letters  of  the  children.  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  you 
are  all  well.  You  mention  having  received  from  the  post-office  three 
letters,  one  from  Mr.  Wild  of  Hallowell,  one  from  Mr.  Hale.  The 
other  you  do  not  mention.  Keep  the  two  and  inform  me  of  the 
third,  if  of  any  importance.  I  have  got  settled  in  pretty  good  lodg 
ings,  though  at  too  great  a  distance  from  the  Capitol, — about  two 
miles.  The  society  is  good.  Mr.  Gilman,  General  Smith  of  Balti 
more,  Messrs.  Goldsborough  of  Maryland,  Mr.  Eppes,  etc.,  also  sev 
eral  ladies.  We  have  carriages  to  carry  us  to  the  Capitol  when  neces 
sary.  I  should  have  preferred  lodgings  nearer  the  Capitol,  if  I  could 
have  got  such  as  I  liked,  but  could  not. 

I  can  form  no  opinion  of  the  length  of  the  session.  It  is  now 
said  the  session  will  not  terminate  before  the  20th  of  July.  Things 
here  look  quite  as  well  as  I  expected.  I  am  pretty  well  recovered 
from  the  fatigue  of  my  journey.  Tell  the  children  I  will  answer 
their  letters  soon.  Give  my  love  to  them. 

Yours  in  haste,  J.  MASON. 

The  United  States  Senate  at  that  time  consisted  of  thirty-six 
members,  of  whom  twenty-seven  were  Republicans  and  nine  were 
Federalists.  Mr.  Giles  of  Virginia  was  the  ablest  debator  and  the 
leading  mind  on  the  Democratic  side,  but  having  become  disaffected 
to  the  administration  of  Mr.  Madison,  neither  his  voice  nor  his  vote 
was  to  be  depended  upon.  He  spoke  and  acted,  as  Harry  Wynd 
fought,  for  his  own  hand.  Mr.  Campbell  of  Tennessee  was  the 
administration  leader.  Mr.  Gore  of  Massachusetts  and  Mr.  Kingb 
of  New  York  were  the  leading  members  on  the  Federal  side.  With 
both  of  these  distinguished  men  Mr.  Mason  formed  a  close  and 
enduring  friendship. 

(59) 
1  This  was  Christopher  Gore,  the  cultured,  commercial  lawyer,  with  whom 

Daniel  Webster  read  law  in  1804-5,  and  who  advised  young  Webster,  when 
offered  a  $1500  clerkship  in  his  father's  N.  H.  Court,  to  decline  the  place,  and 
stick  to  the  law,  which  he  had  the  good  sense  to  do,  though  it  was  a  struggle 
for  him  to  do  so.  (See  1  Geo.  T.  Curtis's  Life  of  Webster,  69-72.) 

b  Rufus  King,  whom   Mason  thought  the  most  able  man   and  the  greatest 
orator  he  had  ever  known.     Webster  relates,  that  while  in  Mr.  Gore's  office,  in 


58  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


The  House  of  Representatives  consisted  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty-two  members,  of  whom  one  hundred  and  fourteen  were  Re 
publicans,  and  sixty-eight  were  Federalists.  The  leading  Republi 
cans  were  Mr.  Clay  of  Kentucky  and  Mr.  Calhoun  of  South  Carolina ; 
and  conspicuous  on  the  same  side  were  John  McLean  of  Ohio,  John 
Forsyth  and  George  M.  Troup  of  Georgia,  Charles  J.  Ingersoll  of  Penn 
sylvania,  Felix  Grundy  of  Tennessee,  and  Langdon  Cheves  and  Wil 
liam  Lowndes,  of  South  Carolina. 

Mr.  Gaston,  of  North  Carolina,  Mr.  Grosvenor  of  New  York, 
and  Mr.  Webster,  all  new  members,  soon  rose  to  the  place  of  lead 
ers  on  the  Federal  side. 

Two  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  Twelfth  Congress  were  no  longer 
members.  Mr.  Quincy  of  Massachusetts  had  declined  a  re-election, 
and  Mr.  Randolph  of  Virginia,  whose  brilliant  and  erratic  genius  had 
already  given  him  a  national  reputation,  had,  on  account  of  his  oppo 
sition  to  the  war,  been  defeated  by  Mr.  Eppes,  son-in-law  of  Mr. 
Jefferson. 

Congress  remained  in  session  till  the  second  day  of  August,  but 
Mr.  Mason  left  Washington  a  day  or  two  before,  on  leave  of  absence. 
In  so  short  a  period  of  service,  and  belonging  to  a  hopeless  minority, 
he  could  do  little  more  than  look  about  him,  and  learn  to  feel  at 
home  in  his  new  position. 

Two  letters  to  his  wife  give  us  a  glimpse  of  his  Washington 
life  :- 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  July  3,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — .  .  .  .You  inquire  if  I  attend  church.  The 
Church  does  not  in  any  respect  make  a  conspicious  figure  here. 

Boston,  a  gentleman  came  in,  and  asked  to  see  Mr.  Gore,  who  was  not  in.  He 
sat  down  to  wait  for  him.  He  was  dressed  in  plain  gray  clothes.  Webster 
was  reading  a  work  on  the  Law  of  Nations,  which  had  much  to  say  of  ships 
and  freight,  etc.  The  stranger,  coming  up  to  the  table  said:  "Well,  I  read 
that  book,  too,  when  I  was  a  boy"  (Mr.  King,  for  this  was  the  stranger's  name, 
was  then  50)  and  says  Webster,  proceeded  to  talk  not  only  about  "ships  and 
freights,"  but  insurance,  prize,  and  other  matters  of  maritime  law,  in  a  man 
ner,  "to  put  me  up  to  all  I  knew,"  and  a  good  deal  more.  (See  Webster's  Auto 
biography,  p.  19.) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  59 


I  have  as  yet  been  here  but  one  Sunday,  on  which  I  did  not  go  out. 
Public  worship  is  held  at  the  capitol;  but  from  what  I  have  seen  of 
the  chaplains  I  presume  the  preaching  is  ordinary.  I  shall  go  there 
tomorrow.  There  is  a  church  in  Georgetown  where  I  am  told  there  is 
a  good  preacher.  Mr.  Madison  is  on  the  recovery,  (60)  which  will  re 
lieve  your  apprehension  of  the  government  devolving  on  Mr.  Gerry. a 
The  old  gentleman  is  usually  characterized  here  by  the  same  epithet 
which  you  mention  I  used  to  bestow  on  him.  The  weather  continues 
very  warm ;  it  is  said,  unusually  so,  for  the  climate ;  but  I  do  not  per 
ceive  it  has  affected  my  health  in  any  degree.  I  am  doing  here  as  well 
as  I  expected  as  far  as  relates  to  myself  personally;  that  is,  I  have 
tolerable  lodgings  and  pretty  good  company.  Have  made  my  first 
speech  in  the  Senate.1  It  was  concise,  and  no  great  thing,  but  seemed 
to  be  pretty  well  received.  Without  the  spirit  of  prophecy  it  is  im 
possible  to  tell  when  the  session  will  end.  I  intend  to  come  home  by 
the  first  part  of  August. 

Virginia  is  in  great  alarm  with  the  invasion.  No  great  damage 
has  yet  been  done.  My  respects  to  Mr.  Fales  and  love  to  yourself 
and  children.  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  July  11,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  was  invited  this  morning  to  go  to  the  Quaker 
meeting  but  declined,  to  afford  me  an  opportunity  of  performing 
my  promise  in  my  note  of  yesterday,  of  writing  today.  Although  I 
do  not  seem  to  have  much  to  do,  yet  by  reason  of  calls  and  various 
interruptions  I  have  not  much  leisure.  I  have  seen  many  new  faces 
and  new  things.  As  yet  I  have  not  derived  much  instruction  or 
amusement  from  the  view.  I  have,  however,  seen  people  from  whom 
I  expect  considerable  of  both.  The  people  in  the  house  where  I  lodge 

1  This  speech  is  not  reported,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  printed  records  of 
the  Senate  to  show  on  what  subject  it  was  made. 

(61) 

a  Elbridge  Gerry  (1744-1814),  at  this  time  69,  was  Vice-President  under 
Madison,  and  held  that  office  when  he  died.  He  was  born  at  Marblehead,  Mass., 
graduated  at  Harvard;  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  and  a  member  of  the  Convention  which  adopted  the  Constitution,  but  re- 


60  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


are  of  various  sorts.  Some  very  fashionable,  some  both  fashionable 
and  well-informed,  and  some  not  superlative  in  anything.  Having 
already  tarried  here  nearly  as  long  as  I  expected,  I  begin  to  wish  to 
set  my  face  homeward.  While  experiencing  the  bad  attendance  of 
servants  and  the  numerous  wants  in  little  matters  of  accommoda 
tion,  I  cannot  help  sometimes  contrasting  my  situation  here  with 
home.  But  in  another  point  of  view,  my  situation  here  will  still 
less  bear  comparison  with  that  at  home.  I  am  here  constantly  sur 
rounded  by  people  for  whom  I  do  not  care  a  biscuit ;  at  home  I  am  in 
the  midst  of  all  those  I  hold  most  dear.  Here,  nothing  concerns  or 
interests  me;  there,  everything.  I  am  much  inclined  to  think  the 
glitter  of  the  Southern  folks  consists  more  in  tinsel  than  gold.  I 
fear  this  will  apply  to  their  characters  in  all  respects.  They  make 
a  great  show  of  equipage  and  servants,  while  they  live  in  lodgings, 
and  with  accommodations,  which  to  us  would  be  absolutely  uncom 
fortable.  Their  conversation  is  generally  easy  and  specious,  but 
affords  little  instruction.  I  am  yet  in  doubt  how  I  shall  like  continu 
ing  here.  Public  affairs  are  certainly  very  gloomy.  This  I  expect 
ed.  The  prospect  of  change  and  amendment  is  quite  as  promising 
as  I  expected.  My  situation  personally  is,  on  the  whole,  as  good  as 
I  could  expect.  The  people  whom  I  most  respect  seem  to  be  dis 
posed  to  treat  me  well  enough.  Were  it  not  for  this  ugly  absence 
from  all  I  value,  I  should  probably  be  pretty  well  satisfied.  I  travel 
home  twenty  times  a  day  to  see  what  you  are  about,  and  always  find 
that  much  more  interesting  than  anything  doing  here.  Our  Senate 
yesterday,  refused  to  ratify  the  appointment  of  a  minster  to  Sweden, 
which  was  a  favorite  measure  with  the  administration.1  It  is  consid 
ered  here,  as  being  the  most  important  point  which  has  been  car- 
fused  to  sign  on  the  ground  that  the  rights  of  the  people  were  not  sufficiently 
protected.  (See  Austin's  Life  of  Gerry  (1828-9.). 

His  family  died  in  penury,  Congress  having  refused  to  pay  the  destitute 
family  (he  having  died  in  November,  1814,  during  the  session),  on  the  ground 
that  a  pension  was  intended,  as  they  had  just  appropriated  $30,000  to  purchase 
Jefferson's  7,000-volumed  library.  (See  Schouler's  History  of  U.  S.,  Vol.  2, 
p.  508.) 

1  On  the  9th  of  July  the  Senate  voted,  twenty-two  yeas  to  fourteen  nays, 
that  it  was  inexpedient  to  send  a  minister  to  Sweden.  Mr.  Jonathan  Russell 
had  been  nominated. 

(62) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  61 


ried  against  the  administration  for  ten  years.  It  was  not  expected, 
and  has  created  considerable  sensation.  There  are  other  questions 
of  still  more  importance  to  be  determined.  The  administration  will 
probably  carry  their  main  question,  but  I  trust  they  will  learn  to  be 
more  cautious  and  prudent  in  future.  The  Federalists,  as  far  as 
party  feelings  are  concerned,  are  in  better  spirits  than  for  several 
years  past.  But  I  hope  and  trust  that  the  violence  of  party  feelings 
is  subsiding.  There  is  considerable  prospect  of  it  in  the  Senate 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

He  writes,  on  public  affairs,  to  his  friend  Dr.  Appleton,  like  him 
self,  a  decided  Federalist:— 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  THE  REV.  JESSE  APPLETON. 

WASHINGTON,  July  20,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Ever  since  I  have  been  here  I  have  intended  to 
write  you.  But  although  I  have  personally  not  much  of  importance 
to  do,  yet  there  have  been  so  many  matters  to  hear  and  think  of 
that  I  have  had  very  little  leisure.  To  me  most  things  here  are  new, 
and  not  a  few  appear  strange.  I  expected  to  find  some  dissatisfac 
tion  among  the  old  friends  of  the  administration.  But  I  was  not 
prepared  to  expect  the  violent  jealousies  among  them  which  I  find. 
They  have  no  confidence  in  each  other.  It  is  believed  here  that  there 
exists  no  confidence  among  the  heads  of  the  departments.  The  Sec 
retary  of  State  and  of  Wara  are  each  some  distance  down  the  river, 
at  the  head  of  separate  bodies  of  troops,  preparing  to  oppose  the 
enemy.  They  are  both  ambitious  of  military  command,  and  envious 
of  each  other.  The  influence  of  the  President  is  much  less  than  I 
supposed.  There  seems  to  be  little  plan  or  concert  in  the  manage 
ment  of  public  affairs.  The  party  in  power  feel  mortified  and  de 
pressed. 

The  Senate  have  in  several  instances  acted  with  great  apparent 
independence.  The  refusal  to  assent  to  the  appointment  of  Russell 

a  James    Monroe   was    Secretary   of    State,    and    John    Armstrong,    of    New 
York,  Secretary  of  War. 


62  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


minister  to  Sweden,  and  of  Gallatin1'  as  one  of  the  commissioners 
under  the  Russian  mediation,  was  the  rudest  shock  the  President 
has  ever  experienced.  It  was  wholly  unexpected.  In  those  cases 
peculiar  reasons  operated  with  several  individuals,  and  induced  them 
to  act  against  the  President.  I  fear  similar  reasons  will  not  con 
tinue  to  operate  in  other  cases.  Gallatin  was  suspected  of  am 
bition.  He  aspired  to  the  Presidency,  and  had  rivals  who  wished 
to  impede  his  way.  Some  of  the  old  friends  of  the  President  acted 
from  other  and  better  motives.  They  deemed  the  affairs  of  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury  and  minister  to  a  foreign  court  incompatible. 

(63) 
The  President  is  highly  offended,  and  there  will  be  some  difficulty 

in  forming  a  new  league.  If  there  was  more  honor  or  honesty  among 
them  the  difficulty  would  be  increased.  But  they  have  been  so  long 
in  the  habit  of  making  jobbing  bargains  that  I  expect  some  expedi 
ent  will  be  hit  on  to  restore  their  ancient  amity. 

I  can  give  you  no  information  respecting  the  probability  of  the 
enemy's  coming  to  this  place.  They  are  now  about  forty  miles  down 
the  river.  Reports  respecting  their  force  and  probable  intention 
are  various.  I  believe  they  intend  to  come  here,  but  they  have  been 
so  dilatory  in  their  movements  that  they  will  not  be  able  to  effect 
their  object.  The  people  here  have  been  greatly  alarmed. 

Congress  expect  to  end  the  present  session  in  about  one  week 
after  your  Commencement.  I  hope  to  see  you  at  Portsmouth.  Make 
my  affectionate  respects  to  Mrs.  Appleton. 

I  am  sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

The  second  session  of  the  Thirteenth  Congress  began  on  the 
sixth  day  of  December,  1813,  and  closed  on  the  eighteenth  day  of 
April,  1814.  Mr.  Mason  was  present  in  his  seat  at  the  opening  of 
the  session,  and  remained  in  Washington  till  its  close.  He  was 
constant  in  his  attendance,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceed 
ings  of  the  Senate.  Not  having  been  a  member  of  that  body  at  the 

b  Speaking  of  Albert  Gallatin,  one  of  the  greatest  compliments  ever  given 
him,  was  the  sarcastic  retort  J.  J.  Ingalls  made  to  a  Pennsylvania  Senator,  who 
had  spoken  disparagingly  of  Kansas.  "Mr.  President,"  said  Ingalls,  "Pennsyl 
vania  has  produced  but  two  great  men:  Benjamin  Franklin,  of  Massachusetts, 
and  Albert  Gallatin,  of  Switzerland." 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  63 


opening  of  the  first  session,  May  24th,  1813,  he  \vas  not  placed  on 
any  of  the  standing  committees,  but  he  served  on  several  specially 
appointed  during  the  course  of  the  winter.  He  was  chairman  of  one 
which  reported  a  bill  for  the  purchase  of  a  library  for  the  use  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  which  passed  the  Senate,  but  never  ripened  into  a 
law.  He  was  a  member  of  another  which  seems  to  have  done  a  good 
deal  of  work,  which  had  under  consideration  certain  questions  be 
tween  the  State  of  Georgia  arid  the  Mississippi  Territory ;  and  finally 
reported  a  bill  which  became  a  law,  under  the  title  of  "An  Act  pro 
viding  for  the  indemnification  of  certain  claimants  of  public  lands 
in  the  Mississippi  Territory.  Approved  March  31,  1814." 

(64) 
He  served  upon  a  joint  committee  on  the  library,  and  upon  a 

Senate  committee  to  inquire  whether  the  acts  of  Congress  relative 
to  the  general  promulgation  of  the  laws  required  any  amendment. 

As  is  well  known  to  all  who  are  familiar  with  the  past  history  of 
the  country,  the  almost  exclusive  business  of  Congress  during  this 
session  was  the  providing  of  men  and  money  for  carrying  on  a  war 
into  which  the  country  had  been  plunged  with  little  of  forethought 
and  less  of  preparation.  The  party  opposed  to  the  war,  though  weak 
in  numbers,  was  powerful  in  ability  and  influence;  but  the  force  of 
the  opposition  was  not  so  great  a  difficulty  in  carrying  on  the  war  as 
was  the  cold  and  languid  support  of  its  friends.  It  was,  in  truth,  a 
politicians'  war,  and  the  popular  heart  never  was  for  it  or  in  it.  That 
intense  public  spirit  which  during  our  recent  civil  contest,  made  all 
efforts  easy  and  all  sacrifices  light,  was  wholly  wanting.  Federalists 
and  Democrats  abused  each  other  with  equal  virulence,  but  the  ener 
gies  of  both  went  no  farther:  the  two  nerves  of  war,  iron  and  gold, 
men  and  money,  were  hard  to  come  at.  The  brilliant  successes  of  our 
navy  had  not  been  enough  to  counteract  the  depressing  influence  of 
the  disasters  and  misfortunes  which  had  attended  our  arms  on  land ; 
and  when  Congress  met  in  December,  1813,  a  general  feeling  of  de 
spondency  and  anxiety  hung  over  the  country,  and  made  the  task 
of  carrying  on  the  government  and  keeping  up  the  war  one  of  no 
small  difficulty. 

Mr.  Mason  wrote  constantly  to  his  wife,  and  occasionally  to  his 
friend  Dr.  Appleton;  and  his  letters  reveal  at  once  the  embarrass- 


64  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


ments  of  the  administration,  and  that  languid  beat  of  the  public 
pulse  which  was  the  chief  cause  of  them. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

BOSTON,  November  23,  1813. 

DEAR  MARY, — I  arrived  here  last  evening.     At  Newburyporta 

the  stage  being  crowded,  the  stage  proprietors,  of  their  own  accord, 

offered  me  a  horse  and  chaise,  with  which  I  came  on  here  very  con- 

9  (65) 

veniently.     I  shall  set  out  early  tomorrow  morning  in  the  Albany 

stage.  I  am  told  that  the  roads  on  the  direct  road  to  New  York 
are  exceedingly  bad,  and  the  roads  to  Albany  pretty  good.  From 
the  state  of  the  weather,  I  have  no  fear  that  there  can  be  any  ice 
to  prevent  the  steamboats  passing  down  to  New  York.  Should 
there  be  any  change  in  the  weather,  which  would  make  it  doubtful 
whether  the  steamboats  can  run,  when  I  get  to  Connecticut  river,  I 

shall  change  my  course  and  go  by   Hartford This   is   the 

first  time,  my  dear  Mary,  I  have  ever  left  you  expecting  to  be  long 
absent.  Had  I  not  seen  that  the  contemplation  of  it  affected  your 
spirit  more  than  I  wished,  I  should  have  more  fully  explained  to 
you  my  own  unpleasant  feelings.  Be  assured  no  light  consideration 
would  induce  me  to  make  the  sacrifice.  Under  all  circumstances, 
I  do  think  it  my  duty,  and  it  gives  me  much  satisfaction  to  know 
this  is  also  your  opinion.  We  must  therefore  bear  the  unpleasant 
separation  with  fortitude.  Do  not  permit  yourself  to  entertain  any 
painful  forebodings. 

I  am,  as  always,  sincerely  and  affectionately  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

a  Newburyport,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Merrimac  River,  is  a  port  of  entry, 
33  miles  northeast  of  Boston,  a  town  of  14,949  people  in  1910.  It  was  the  birth 
place  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  and  the  remains  of  George  Whitfield,  the 
evangelist,  lie  in  the  Old  South  Church.  Judge  Theophilus  Parsons,  and  Caleb 
Gushing  were  born  here  and  spent  most  of  their  legal  careers  in  this  city. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  65 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 
JERSEY  CITY  OPPOSITE  NEW  YORK,  Sunday  afternoon,  28th  November,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  arrived  at  Albany  after  a  fatiguing  journey, 
late  on  Friday  night;  the  next  morning  went  on  board  the  steam 
boat,  and  was  brought  to  New  York  this  morning.  Having  deter 
mined  to  make  no  tarry  in  New  York,  for  fear  the  weather,  which 
is  now  temperate,,  will  become  inclement,  I  immediately  crossed  the 
ferry  to  this  place,  and  set  out  at  five  o'clock  this  afternoon  for 
Philadelphia.  I  go  twenty  miles  in  the  evening,  and  arrive  at  Phil 
adelphia  tomorrow  evening.  My  journey  from  Boston  to  Albany 
was  tedious,  but  I  think  not  so  much  so  as  it  would  have  been  the 
other  way.  My  passage  on  the  steamboat  was  rapid,  going  one 
hundred  and  sixty-five  miles  in  twenty-two  hours,  and  attended  with 
no  labor  or  fatigue.  The  company  was  numerous  and  promiscuous, 

(66) 
the  Secretary  of  War,  General  Harrison,  and  other  mighty  men  of 

war  among  them.  In  the  promiscuous  crowd  was  Bishop  Hobart, 
with  whom  I  became  somewhat  acquainted.  I  should  have  liked  to 
have  tarried  a  day  or  two  in  New  York,  but  on  consideration  deemed 
it  best  to  improve  the  present  moderate  weather.  From  Boston  to 
Albany  I  had  a  very  pleasant  companion,  a  Mr.  Bleecker  of  Albany. 
I  shall  go  on  to  Philadelphia  with  a  Mr.  Lovett,  an  agreeable,  well- 
informed  man.  At  Philadelphia  I  intend  to  stop  and  rest  a  spell. 
There  I  expect  to  receive  a  letter  from  you  and  hope  not  to  be  dis 
appointed.  I  feel  at  present  as  if  I  should  never  submit  to  take 
many  more  of  these  journeys  to  Washington.  However  it  may 
consist  with  my  duty  and  honor,  I  am  certain  it  will  never  agree 
with  my  feelings  or  increase  my  happiness.  My  thoughts  are  con 
stantly  travelling  towards  home,  and  I  wish  with  all  my  soul  I  was 
going  with  them.  I  feel  constantly  anxious  about  you  and  the 
children,  although  I  know  no  particular  cause  for  my  anxiety.  Let 
me  often  hear  from  you,  and  know  me  ever  sincerely  yours, 

J.  MASON. 


66  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

PHILADELPHIA,  Wednesday,  1st  December,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — .  .  .  .  Yesterday  I  was  not  out  of  my  lodg 
ings.  Today  I  dined  with  Mr.  Chauncey,  who  married  the  Miss 
Chester  who  was  said  to  be  so  exceedingly  beautiful.  She  has  the 
appearance  of  a  fine  woman,  but  has  very  bad  health,  which  I 
presume  has  made  severe  inroads;  for  she,  at  present,  certainly 
would  not  pass  for  a  beautiful  woman.  The  dinner  was  merely  a 
family  party,  and  I  tarried  but  a  short  time.  By  the  way,  I  believe 
I  forgot  to  mention  to  you  that  I  dined  with  George  Blake  the  day 
I  tarried  in  Boston.  I  met  him  accidentally,  and  he  urged  me  very 
earnestly  to  a  family  dinner.  I  went  and  found  a  very  large  party, 
consisting  of  General  Gushing,  a  number  of  young  navy  officers, 
and  others,  all  strangers  to  me.  I  did  not  very  highly  enjoy  the 
feast;  the  guests  were  not  congenial,  and  I  left  them  as  soon  as  I 

(67) 
could  with  decency.     Mrs.  Blake  talked  a  great  deal  about  you  with 

a  very  strong  emphasis ;  says  she  must  and  will  come  and  see  you 
soon — she  thinks  by  sleighing  this  winter.  I  urged  her  to  it  and 
hope  she  will,  as  it  would  at  least  make  a  break  in  what  I  fear  will 
be  your  dull  monotony  of  a  long  winter.  I  could  fill  many  sheets 
with  the  melancholy  reflections  I  have  had  on  this  journey,  but  it 
would  do  no  good ;  if  they  continue,  these  journeys  shall  not  be  often 
repeated.  I  still  think  there  were  sufficient  reasons  'why  I  should 
accept  the  appointment;  if  after  a  fair  trial  it  does  not  answer  my 
expectations,  I  will  get  rid  of  it  and  return  to  my  former  quiet  situa 
tion.  Should  this  be  the  case  of  which  I  think  there  is  much  proba 
bility,  I  still  shall  not  regret  having  tried  the  experiment.  It  will 
in  that  event  at  least  satisfy  me  of  what  otherwise  I  might  never 
have  known,  that  public  employment  cannot  tend  to  increase  my 
happiness.  I  have  no  fear  of  being  able  at  pleasure  to  resume  my 
practice^  and  do  as  much  business  as  shall  sufficiently  occupy  my 
time  and  answer  my  occasions.  I  hope  the  children  will  continue 

a  Mason's  longing,  like  that  of  Rufus  Choate,  was  for  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  in  which  he  was  at  home  and  a  master.  Politics  were  not  to  the 
liking  of  either  of  these  great  lawyers. 


DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

From  the  celebrated  daguerreotype  by  Hawes,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  taken  from  life, 
in   1848,  four  years  before  Mr.  Webster's  death.     No  other  portrait  makes 
so  prominent  the  dome-like  forehead,  the  beetling  brows,  the  cavern 
ous  eyes,  the    high   cheek   bones,  and    the    mastiff    mouth,  —  the 
marked  features  of  him  whom  the  late  Sir  Charles  Russell  pro 
nounced  "perhaps  the  greatest  figure  the  world  has  seen." 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  67 


to  do  well.  Tell  them  any  evil  report  of  them  would  give  me  ex 
ceeding  pain. 

I  remain  sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  Sunday,  5th  December,   1813. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  arrived  here  last  evening  from  Baltimore. 
On  the  whole,  my  journey  has  been  very  tiresome,  but  by  taking  it 
moderately  and  stopping  two  or  three  times  by  the  way  to  rest,  I 
have  got  through  without  any  injury  to  my  health.  I  have  been 
much  more  fatigued  than  I  intended  or  expected  to  have  been. 
Travelling  in  the  stage  wagons  such  a  distance  is  almost  intolerable. 
They  are  vastly  more  inconvenient  this  way,  than  at  Portsmouth 
and  Boston.  I  am  at  O'Neal's,  my  old  lodgings.  The  chamber  I 
engaged  was  not  prepared  for  me,  as  I  had  expected.  I  am  told  I 
shall  still  have  it.  I  think  it  probable  I  shall  tarry  here,  but  am 

(68) 
not  fully  determined  on  it.     I  find  no  letters  from  you,  for  which  I 

am  sorry,  as  I  am  anxious  to  hear  fro'm  you.  I  think  it  probable 
the  mail  has  been  delayed  by  the  badness  of  the  travelling.  I  hope 
for  letters  tomorrow.  Things  here  at  present  appear  very  dull.  I 
am  told  that  the  members  are  crowding  in,  and  that  the  citif  will 
be  full  in  a  few  days.  The  prospect  before  me  is  not  very  promis 
ing.  I  fear  the  winter  will  be  long  and  tedious  to  me.  I  intend  to 
engage  as  soon  as  I  can  in  study  and  reading,  and  perhaps  a  little 
in  the  business  of  the  Senate.  I  really  fear  that  I  shall  not  be  able 
to  find  employment  tolerably  interesting  to  occupy  my  time.  All  the 
hours  I  used  to  devote  to  domestic  duties  and  pleasures  are  to  be 
otherwise  disposed  of.  I  shall  often  think  of  you,  my  dear  Mary, 
and  our  children,  around  the  parlor  fireside.  May  the  Author  of 
good  protect  you  and  them,  and  grant  that  we  may  again  meet  in 
health  and  happiness. 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

a  "the  city"  refers  to  Washington,  whose  population    July  1,  1813,  was  but 
9,677. 
—6 


68  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  December  12,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  have  become  a  little  acquainted  with  Madame 
Bonaparte,b  who  has  a  house  in  the  neighborhood  of  my  lodgings. 
She  invited  me  to  come  and  see  her  as  often  as  I  please.  I  think  it 
probable  I  shall  avail  myself  of  her  invitation.  She  appears  to  be 
very  lively  and  facetious,  accomplished  of  course,  and  I  think  very 
handsome.  Yesterday  I  dined  at  the  President's.  The  party  was 
mixed,  and  composed  mostly  of  strangers  to  me.  There  appeared 
the  affectation  of  ease  without  the  reality.  There  was  more  state 
than  elegance,  and  more  elegance  than  good  cheer.  The  President  at 
his  own  table  appears  to  little  advantage.  Mrs.  Madison"  appears, 
I  think,  to  more  advantage,  yet  she  by  no  means  answers  my  ideas 
of  a  high-bred,  courtly  woman.  She  affects  affability  and  good-humor, 
and  is  said  to  be  pretty  generally  popular.  From  appearances  I  do 
not  wish  to  expect  much  from  the  palace.  (69)  The  appearance  of 
political  affairs  is  less  promising  than  I  had  hoped.  There  is  no 
prospect  of  speedy  peace,  and  not  much  chance  of  successful  warfare. 

Sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

b  Josephine,  Marie  Rose  (1763-1814),  wife  of  Napoleon  I,  and  Empress  of 
France,  was  born  in  Martinique,  her  maiden  name  being  Tascher  de  la  Pagerie. 
She  first  married  Vicomte  Alexandre  Beauharnais  (1779),  who  was  guillotined 
during  the  reign  of  terror,  then  Bonaparte  (1796).  She  exercised  a  profound 
influence  over  the  emperor.  Her  union  with  Napoleon  proving  without  issue, 
was  dissolved  in  1809,  to  enable  him  to  marry  Marie  Louise,  of  Austria.  Jose 
phine  died  at  Malmaison,  which  is  a  chateau,  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine,  fiveN 
miles  west  of  Paris,  France.  It  was  purchased  by  her  in  1789.  After  her 
divorce  from  Napoleon,  she  lived  and  died  there. 

c  Mrs.  Madison, — "Dolly  Madison" — born  in  1772,  was  the  rich  and  beauti 
ful  young  widow  of  John  Todd,  of  Philadelphia.  Her  husband  was  taken  off  by  the 
epidemic  of  yellow  fever,  in  his  home  city,  in  1793,— three  years  after  their  mar 
riage.  In  less  than  a  year  after  his  demise,  at  the  age  of 'twenty-two,  she  mar 
ried  James  Madison,  in  1794,  a  confirmed  old  bachelor  of  forty-three.  She 
presided  over  the  White  House,  under  Jefferson  eight  years,  and  eight  years 
as  the  wife  of  Madison. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  69 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  THE  REV.  JESSE  APPLETON,  D.  D. 

WASHINGTON,  December  21,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — After  a  fatiguing  journey,  I  arrived  here  at  the 
opening  of  Congress.  I  am  glad  that  I  came  on  the  first  of  the 
session,  as  business  of  much  importance  has  been  acted  on.  An 
Embargo  Act,  containing  the  provisions  of  the  former  acts  with 
additions  and  alterations  has  passed.  The  vote  in  the  Senate  was 
twenty  against  fourteen.  I  inclose  you  the  President's  confidential 
message  now  made  public,  by  which  you  will  perceive  that  a  pro 
hibition  of  importations  to  a  great  extent  is  intended.  This  meas 
ure  has  excited  much  sensibility  here,  as  I  expect  it  will  in  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  States.  I  gave  it  all  the  opposition  in  my 
power.  All  the  Federalists  of  course  voted  against  it,  but  perhaps 
some  of  them  find  consolation  in  the  belief  that  it  will  tend  to 
destroy  an  administration  which,  if  continued,  they  fear  will  destroy 
the  country.  Important  results  are  certainly  to  be  expected  from 
this  violent  measure.  I  wish  it  was  equally  certain  those  results 
would  be  favorable  to  the  true  interests  of  the  country.  Such  ex 
pectations  in  similar  cases  have  been  so  often  disappointed,  that  I 
cannot  readily  give  in  to  them.  The  merchants  on  whom  these 
restrictions  will  in  the  first  instance  operate  the  most  grievously,  are 
of  all  classes  of  society  the  least  apt  to  make  a  manly  opposition. 
They  have  never  acted  with  any  concert,  and  have  always  in  the  end 
quietly  submitted.  Gain  is  their  great  object.  They  will  never  enter 
into  a  contest  with  the  Government  in  which  no  money  can  be  made. 
Last  year  they  very  valiantly  determined  to  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  government  loans.  The  event  has  shown  that,  with  few  excep 
tions,  they  were  unable  to  resist  the  prospect  of  (70)  profit.  If  this 
act  should  be  rigidly  enacted,  and  continued  long  enough  in  operation 
to  bear  with  its  full  weight  on  the  yeomanry  of  the  country  (as  in  time 
it  must),  an  opposition  may  be  expected  which  will  put  down  the  ad 
ministration.  This  act  has  not  been  carried  through  the  Senate  by 
the  personal  influence  of  the  President.  He  has  not  much  influence. 
The  administration  party  support  him  to  gratify  themselves,  not  him. 
The  clamor  excited  among  the  people  of  the  Southern  and  Western 
States  effected  it.  Messrs.  Giles,  Stone,  and  Anderson,  who  voted 


70  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


against  the  act  last  summer,  fearing  they  should  not  be  able  to  stem 
the  torrent,  now  voted  for  it.  Mr.  Giles  frankly  avowed  this  motive. 
He  and  others  say  they  expect  much  evil  from  it  and  no  good  except 
convincing  the  people  the  attempt  is  idle,  a  most  humiliating  con 
fession.  Giles  and  Stone  have  gone  home  under  pretense  of  private 
business,  but  I  suppose  for  the  real  purpose  of  taking  care  of  the 
Legislatures  of  their  respective  States  now  in  session.  This  is  cer 
tainly  a  very  humble  employment  for  a  proud  man  of  high  talents  as 
Mr.  Giles  confessedly  is. 

The  apparently  submissive  acquiescence  of  the  Senate  to  this 
measure  for  the  pitiful  reasons  assigned,  must  doubtless  tend  to  de 
grade  that  body  in  the  public  estimation.  It  must  not,  however,  be 
herein  inferred  that  we  are  in  future  to  act  in  entire  submission  to 
the  executive  will.  Although  our  malcontent  allies  have  failed  us  in 
this  instance,  they  have  not  gone  back  to  their  ancient  allegiance. 
The  Senate  contains  some  truly  great  men,  and  some  others.  Nearly 
all  the  talents  are  against  the  present  course  of  public  measures.  I 
trust  this  will  in  the  end  operate  favorably. 

Should  the  administration  party  immediately  press  their  now  im 
portant  project,  they  will,  I  think,  carry  it.  It  is  most  probable  they 
will  delay  the  attempt  till  they  see  how  the  embargo  is  relished  by  the 
people. 

The  attempt  made  last  winter  to  authorize  the  occupation  by 
force  of  arms  of  the  Floridas,  it  is  expected  will  be  renewed.  It  is 
pretended,  you  know,  that  a  small  portion  on  the  western  side  is 

(71) 
included  in  the  purchase  of  Louisiana.    The  pretense  for  the  residue 

is  a  fear  that  the  English  will  take  it  if  we  do  not ;  and  also  to  prevent 
the  English  and  Spaniards  holding  any  intercourse  with  our  Southern 
Indians. 

The  army  is  to  be  arranged  on  a  new  plan.  Many  of  the  officers 
are  to  be  deranged;  Wilkinson  and  Hampton,  if  they  survive  their 
present  sickness,  must  follow  Dearborn.  I  do  not  mean  into  mat 
rimony,  but  into  disgrace.  Harrison,  who  is  now  here,  is  to  be 
brought  forward,  and  if  an  army  can  be  had,  sufficient  to  conquer 
Canada,  Armstrong  will  try  to  obtain  the  command.  A  project  is 
to  be  brought  forward  to  fill  the  army  by  a  requisition  on  the  militia. 
The  plan  is  not  matured.  Some  talk  of  an  absolute  conscription,  others 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  71 


would  admit  of  a  fine  in  lieu  of  personal  service.  Something  of  the 
latter  sort  may  be  expected.  This  plan  I  think  will  fail  by  the  refusal 
of  the  militia  to  march  out  of  the  limits  of  the  United  States. 

The  Canada  War  will  in  all  probability  progress  slowly. 

It  is  whispered  that  Bonaparte  has  taken  offense  at  our  sending 
ministers  to  make  peace  under  the  mediation  of  Russia,  and  that  our 
minister  in  France  has  not  been  admitted  to  an  audience  by  the  Em 
press,  and  further  that  Serrurier,  the  French  Minister  here,  has 
written  a  very  impertinent  letter  to  the  administration  like  Turreau's.1 

Mr.  Madison  seems  determined  to  consider  Gallatin  as  legal  Sec 
retary  of  the  Treasury,  be  he  absent  ever  so  long. 

Many  think  that  office  now  absolutely  vacant.  If  Gallatin  does 
not  soon  return,  there  will  be  a  noise  on  the  subject,  but  I  cannot 
say  what  it  will  end  in.  Everything  must  give  way  to  what  may 

(72) 
affect  the  next  presidential  election.  This  is  the  mainspring  that  puts 

everything  into  motion. 

A  silly  story  is  now  circulated  by  the  administration  people,  that 
Governor  Tompkins  of  New  York  is  to  be  the  candidate  for  the  next 
Presidency.  This  is  to  gull  the  good  Democrats  of  New  York.  Tomp 
kins  is  said  to  be  a  good-tempered,  inoffensive  man  of  moderate  tal 
ents.  The  party  cannot  yet  determine  on  their  man.  Any  determina 
tion  would  disgust  many.  It  must  therefore  be  postponed  as  long  as 
it  can  be. 

I  am  personally  as  well  situated  here  as  I  could  expect  to  be,  and 
on  pretty  good  terms  with  those  whose  good  opinion  I  think  most  val 
uable.  I  however,  feel  severely  the  privation  of  domestic  society  and 
all  its  comforts  and  pleasures. 

I  am  glad  to  learn  that  Mrs.  Appleton  continues  so  well.  Please 
to  give  my  affectionate  regards  to  her. 

I  intend  to  write  to  you  often  and  long.     As  my  letters  will  be 

1  On  the  fourteenth  of  June,  1809,  a  letter  was  addressed  by  M.  Turreau, 
the  French  Minister,  to  Mr.  Robert  Smith,  then  Secretary  of  State,  which  was 
deemed  offensive  in  tone,  and  subsequently  withdrawn.  A  translation  of  the 
letter  appeared  in  the  Federal  Republican,  a  paper  published  in  Georgetown. 
See  Niles's  Register,  vol.  v.  p.  37,  where  the  translation,  and  a  history  of  the 
letter,  may  be  found.  This  matter  came  up  before  the  House  of.  Representatives, 
:n  January  1814,  upon  a  resolution  asking  the  President  for  information.  See 
Niles's  Register,  vol.  v.  p.  355;  Benton's  Abridgment,  vol.  v.  pp.  125,  157. 


72  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


neither  very  legible  nor  logical,  I  will  not  insist  on  your  reading  them, 
when  you  have  anything  better  to  do.  But  according  to  the  course 
here,  I  wish  you  to  consider  them  confidential. 

I  am  sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  Monday  Evening,  2Qth  December,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, —  ....  The  newspapers  will  have  informed 
you  before  this  reaches  you  that  all  the  old  embargo  laws  have  been 
re-enacted,  and  that  the  President  has  recommended  a  more  rigid 
enforcement  of  the  non-importation  laws  against  English  goods.  It 
has  caused  much  excitement  here,  as  it  will  through  the  Northern 
and  Eastern  States.  The  Southern  and  Western  States  are  said  to 
be  clamorous  for  the  measure.  This  subject  was  several  days  be 
fore  the  Senate  in  secret  session,  and  finally  carried  as  it  was  ex 
pected  it  would  be  from  the  beginning.  Three,  who  voted  against 
it  last  summer,  now  voted  for  it.  The  measure  is  violent,  and  im- 
10  (73) 

portant  consequences  may  be  expected.     I  gave  it  all  the  opposition 

in  my  power.  In  the  secret  session,  I  made  a  speech  which  was  well 
received,  and  I  am  told  has  been  a  good  deal  praised.1  I  have  been 
urged  to  write  it  out  and  print  it,  but  think  I  shall  not.  You  will  con 
sider  this,  as  you  must  everything  I  write,  confidential.  It  is  the 
more  natural  for  me  to  write  to  you  confidentially,  as  we  are  in  Con 
gress  dealing  much  in  that  way.  Personally,  I  am  doing  pretty  well 
here.  I  have  the  prospect  of  being  on  good  terms  with  those  of  whose 
good  opinion  I  am  ambitious Adieu, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  December  25,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, —  ....  As  I  intended  I  am  much  by  myself. 
I  go  to  the  Senate  chamber  usually  about  eleven  o'clock,  sometimes 

1  Mr.  Mason's  speech  on  the  embargo  bill,  was  made  December  16,  1813, 
and  is  to  be  found  in  Benton's  Abridgment,  vol.  v.  p.  79.  It  is  a  brief  discussion 
of  the  merits  of  the  bill;  simple  in  language,  plain  and  forcible  in  statement, 
and  unimpassioned  in  tone. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  73 


later;  if  no  uncommon  business  occur,  return  by  three  P.  M.  and 
dine  about  four;  the  evenings  I  generally  spend  in  my  own  cham 
ber  in  reading.  This  I  intend  to  pursue  more  uniformly.  I  am  so 
far  from  the  lodgings  of  most  of  the  members  of  Congress,  that  I 
am  seldom  interrupted  by  their  calls  in  the  evening.  This  I  deem 
fortunate.  There  are  so  few  people  here  who  have  both  the  ability 
and  inclination  to  entertain  company,  that  I  do  not  expect  to  be 
much  interrupted  with  invitations.  I  shall  not  court  it  nor  avoid  it. 
I  have  had  the  honor  of  eating  a  formal  dinner  with  the  President, 
and  have  been  once  at  Mrs.  Madison's  drawing-room.  The  room 
was  very  full  of  people  who  wanted  to  see  and  be  seen ;  I  do  not 
care  much  about  either.  I  shall  be  seldom  there.  I  shall  eat  my 
Christmas  dinner  to-day  with  Messrs.  King  and  Gore,  who  lodge  in 
Georgetown,  about  half  a  mile  farther  from  the  Capitol  than  I  am. 
They  are  the  best  people  here  or  anywhere  else.  A  Mr.  Living 
ston  of  New  York,  with  his  wife  and  family,  has  taken  a  part  of  the 

(74) 
house  in  which  I  lodge,  and  live  by  themselves.     Mrs.  Livingston 

is  the  daughter  of  the  late  Chancellor  Livingston,  who  was  minister 
to  France.  They  are  very  rich,  and  have  a  splendid  equipage.  Mrs. 
Livingston  is  an  accomplished  fine  woman.  I  do  not  remember 
whether  I  have  mentioned  to  you  that  I  have  become  a  little  acquainted 
with  Madame  Bonaparte ;  I  have  seen  her  several  times.  To  me  she 
is  a  new  character;  she  has  all  the  quickness  and  volatility  which  is 
said  to  belong  to  the  French,  moves  quick  and  talks  fast  and  thinks 
little.  She  laughs  much,  but  says  she  is  unhappy,  and  I  believe  her; 
she  has  nothing  to  do  but  seek  amusement.  I  fear  she  has  nothing 
to  expect  which  can  afford  her  peace  and  happiness.a  Her  companion, 
a  Miss  Spear  (an  elderly  maiden  lady),  has  a  shrewd  masculine 
understanding,  has  read  much  and  thought  more.  They  are  opposites 
but  rivals  in  nothing.  Adieu, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  December  29,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  yesterday  received  your  letter  of  the  22d 

a  Madame  Bonaparte  was  now  fifty  years  old,  and  died  a  year  later,  near 
Paris,  France. 


74  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


inst.,  giving  the  distressing  intelligence  of  the  fire.  I  most  sincerely 
sympathize  with  the  sufferers;  the  distress  must  be  extreme.  We 
surely  have  ample  cause  for  gratitude  to  Almighty  God,  that  in  the 
three  great  conflagrations  which  have  surrounded  us,  we  have  been 
spared.  The  view  of  the  ravage  must  have  been  horrible,  and  your 
distress  great.  Mr.  Webster  has  just  arrived  here  and  is  consider 
ably  agitated.  He  knows  Mrs.  Webster  is  with  you;  I  have  told 
him  she  had  best  tarry  there  till  his  return,  and  that  I  was  confident 
it  would  be  both  convenient  and  agreeable  to  you.  I  see  no  incon 
venience  in  it,  and  know  you  will  do  all  in  your  power  to  render 
her  situation  as  pleasant  as  you  can.  Poor  Colonel  Walbach  is  in 
much  distress ;  I  hope  you  have  invited  her  to  take  shelter  with  you. 
I  think  with  you,  that  there  are  none  of  the  sufferers  who  can  have 
stronger  claims  on  you  than  Mrs.  Webster  and  Mrs.  Walbach.  You  will 
of  course  do  whatever  is  in  your  power  for  any  and  all  of  (75)  them. 
Some  of  them  must  be  reduced  to  great  distress  and  be  in  need  of 
everything.  I  wish  you  to  inform  me  of  such  particulars  relative  to 
our  friends,  as  I  probably  may  not  be  informed  of  by  the  public  papers. 
I  hope  you  have  not  and  will  not  permit  this  distressing  event  to  work 
so  much  on  your  feelings  as  to  injure  your  health. 

Sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  Sunday,  January  16,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  have  your  letters  of  7th  and  8th  instants.  I 
am  glad  to  hear  you  are  all  so  well  and  happy  in  a  visit  from  your 
father  and  mother.  I  will  write  to  your  father  and  send  you  the 
newspapers  you  desire.  I  write  little  political  intelligence  to  any 
body.  In  truth,  there  are  few  secrets  of  a  political  sort  to  be  com 
municated.  Most  things  known  here  immediately  find  their  way 
into  newspapers;  and  I  do  not  like  to  indulge  much  in  conjectures. 
It  is  difficult  to  form  a  very  satisfactory  opinion  respecting  the  prob 
ability  of  peace.  I  am  rather  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  peace 
will  take  place,  some  time  next  summer  or  fall.  But  I  am  by  no 
means  sanguine  in  this  opinion;  some  things  look  likely  for  peace, 
and  some  things  have  the  opposite  aspect.  I  dined  yesterday  at 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  75 


General  Mason's.  He  claims  to  belong  to  the  old-fashioned  nobility 
of  Virginia.  He  has  a  very  charming  situation  on  an  island,  in  the 
river  Potomac,  near  Georgetown.  The  rage  of  the  day  seems  to 
be  domestic  manufactures.  General  Mason  is  a  great  merino  man.3 
The  second  table-cloth,  which  was  a  very  fine  damask,  was  of  home 
manufacture,  and  the  thread  all  spun  in  the  house.  Mrs.  Mason,  who 
appears  and  is  said  to  be  a  very  fine  woman,  is  also  a  notable  house 
wife.  This  union,  contrary  to  our  opinion  of  them,  is  said  to  be 
common  in  this  part  of  the  country.  The  prospect  at  present  is, 
that  the  session  will  not  end  early  in  the  spring.  I  shall  be  anxious 
to  have  it  terminate  as  soon  as  the  travelling  becomes  good.  I 

want  much  to  be  at  home,  out  of  this  turmoil.  The  weather  here 
has  been  unusually  cold.  The  snow  has  been  half  a  foot  deep  a  fort 
night.  Last  night  a  rain  carried  off  the  most  of  it,  and  the  weather, 
which  is  now  mild,  will,  I  hope,  soon  finish  the  rest. 

Affectionately  yours,  etc.,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  23,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — .  .  .  .  You  say  some  of  my  letters  are 
short,  and  you  want  me  to  write  you  some  politics.  I  doubt  whether 
the  subject  would  be  entertaining  to  you.  I  have  such  subjects  so 
constantly  dinned  in  my  ears,  that  I  am  almost  tired  with  them. 
On  the  prospect  of  peace,  about  which  there  is  such  public  interest 
excited,  it  is  not  easy  to  form  a  very  satisfactory  opinion.  The  de 
feat  of  the  French,  and  ill-success  of  our  army  on  the  Canada  frontier, 
have  greatly  depressed  the  expectations  of  our  government.  At  the 
present  moment  they  doubtless  wish  for  peace.  But  any  trivial 
change  of  fortune  or  increase  of  their  popularity,  would  change  their 
wishes.  The  two  governments  have  adopted  such  opposite  prin 
ciples  respecting  the  right  of  impressing  seamen,  that  it  will  be  found 
no  easy  task  to  make  peace.  I  have  been  at  church  today,  and  heard 

a  Webster  had  700  choice  sheep  on  his  Marshfield,  Mass.,  farm  and  Clay 
had  50  Merino  sheep  driven  over  the  mountains  from  Pennsylvania,  to  "Ash 
land,"  his  Lexington,  Kentucky  farm. 


76  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


a  Mr.  Mead  preach  who  is  much  celebrated  here.  He  is  a  young 
man,  very  simple  and  unaffected  in  his  manner,  earnest  and  impres 
sive,  with  no  show  of  learning,  very  zealous,  and  I  think  a  little 
Methodistical.  I  was,  on  the  whole,  a  good  deal  pleased  with  him. 
The  most  of  the  preachers  here  are  very  ordinary.  I  live  a  very  reg 
ular  and  somewhat  monotonous  life,  amid  all  the  noise  and  bustle  of 
this  place.  My  evenings  I  spend  mostly  in  my  chamber  attending 
sometimes  to  business  and  sometimes  to  reading.  I  am  tolerably 
supplied  with  books.  I  have  been  two  or  three  times  to  Mrs.  Madi 
son's  drawing-room,  which  I  believe  will  answer  for  the  winter.  I 
think  I  mentioned  to  you  I  had  made  an  (77)  acquaintance  with  Ma 
dame  Bonaparte,  and  her  companion,  Miss  Spear,  and  think  it  proba 
ble,  added,  that  I  intended  to  pursue  it.  That  was  my  intention.  Her 
house  is  near  my  lodgings.  She  gave  me  an  apparently  very  frank 
invitation  to  come  and  see  her  often,  etc.  I  have  sipped  her  tea 
several  times,  and  have  generally  found  her  surrounded  by  fashion 
able  old  and  young  men.  She  and  her  visitors  are  made  up  mostly 
of  fashion.  The  conversation  is,  of  course,  of  that  tinsel  kind,  which 
is  not  even  very  interesting  or  instructing,  and  will  not  wear  long. 
I  am  about  concluding  that  I  shall  not  derive  much  benefit  from  it, 
and  do  not  intend  to  have  much  more  to  do  with  it.  Messrs.  King 
and  Gore  and  their  wives  are  the  best  people  I  have  found  here.  I  see 
them  pretty  frequently,  and  the  more  I  see  of  them  the  better  I  like 
them.  Mr.  King  is  a  very  great  man  ;a  Mr.  Gore  great  enough.  The 
women  both  have  bad  health,  and  not  disposed  to  be  much  in  com 
pany.  I  begin  to  think  of  the  end  of  the  session,  for  I  cannot  express 
how  ardently  I  wish  to  be  with  you.  As  yet  no  opinion  can  be  formed 
when  it  will  end,  but  I  shall  be  very  impatient  as  soon  as  the  roads  are 
settled  in  the  spring.  Adieu,  J.  MASON. 

a  "Mr.  King  is  a  remarkably  well  informed  man,  a  very  judicious  one,  a  man 
of  address,  a  man  of  fortune  and  economy,  whose  situation  affords  just  ground 
of  confidence;  a  man  of  unimpeachable  probity,  where  he  is  best  known,  a  firm 
friend  of  the  Government,  a  supporter  of  the  measures  of  the  President;  a  man 
who  cannot  but  feel  that  he  has  strong  pretentions  to  confidence  and  trust." — 
Gen.  Alexander  Hamilton,  in  letter  to  Washington  to  promote  Mr.  King's  ap 
pointment  as  Minister  to  Great  Britain,  1796,  to  which  he  was  appointed  by 
Washington,  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate. — 6  King's  Life  and  Correspondence, 
p.  680. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  77 


JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  29,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  have  your  letter  containing  your  criticisms 
on  my  speech  against  the  embargo  law.  Whatever  I  may  think 
respecting  your  impartiality  on  this  subject,  be  assured  the  world 
does  not  contain  a  person  whose  favorable  opinion  on  this  or  any 
other  subject,  interesting  me,  I  so  highly  appreciate.  That  speech 
when  delivered  was  thought  well  enough  of  by  those  few  who  heard 
it,  and  who  were  predisposed  to  think  well  of  it.  Like  occasional 
sermons,  it  was  published  at  the  special  request  of  such  of  the 
hearers  as  liked  it.  Should  it  attract  any  notice  (about  which, 
although  not  anxious,  I  am  not  entirely  indifferent) ,  it  will,  with  the 
public,  experience  a  similar  fate.  Such  as  are  disposed  to  think 

(78) 
favorably  of  its  author  and  objects,  may  probably  incline  to  receive  it 

favorably,  while  those  otherwise  disposed  will  treat  it  with  contempt. 
From  your  letter,  I  fancy  you  have  rather  more  sensibility  respect 
ing  this  bantling  than  I  have.  I  advise  you  to  moderate  it.  I  have 
no  intention  of  suffering  my  happiness  to  depend  on  popular  breath. 
The  foundation  is  too  unstable.  Subjects  of  high  importance  are 
almost  constantly  agitated  here,  and  my  mind  has  become  much 
engrossed  by  them.  Of  the  objects  and  intentions  of  the  adminis 
tration,  I  think  worse  than  I  formerly  did.  You  expressed  a  wish 
I  should  write  to  you  sometimes  on  political  matters,  and  particu 
larly  to  give  you  my  opinion  respecting  the  prospects  of  peace,  which 
you  may  tell  to  those  who  so  often  inquire  of  you.  The  wish  is 
natural  and  reasonable,  and  yet  I  cannot  often  comply  with  it.  Un 
less  I  write  with  great  precision  and  attention,  which  I  cannot  well 
take  the  labor  of  doing,  there  would  be  danger  of  misapprehension 
which  might  be  inconvenient.  With  you  I  have  no  secrets  on  this  or 
any  other  subject,  but  you  must  keep  them  to  yourself.  You  may  tell 
anybody  who  inquires,  that  my  opinion  respecting  the  probability  of 
peace  seems  to  be  very  doubtful.  This  is  the  real  fact.  The  rea 
sons  are  many,  and  would  be  tedious  in  detail.  I  am  gratified  by 
knowing  the  children  are  doing  well.  Of  all  things  this  is  the  most 
important  to  us.  The  more  I  see  and  reflect,  the  more  highly  I 


78  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


estimate  the  importance  of  the  early  education  of  children.  The 
instances  of  profligacy  which  I  often  see  here,  may  generally  be 
traced  to  the  want  of  a  good  moral  and  religious  education  in  early 
life.  If  habits  of  morality  and  religion  are  neglected  in  early  life, 
they  will  usually  never  be  acquired,  and  even  if  acquired  at  a  later 
period,  they  will  set  but  loosely.  I  know  it  to  be  unnecessary  for 
me  to  impress  on  you  the  importance  of  this  subject,  but  I  assure 
you  that  from  my  observation  here,  it  has  acquired  in  my  eyes  addi 
tional  importance.  Religion  is  the  best  if  not  the  only  foundation 
of  morality.  Without  morality  a  man,  whatever  be  his  situation, 
either  high  or  low,  is  good  for  nothing,  and  a  woman  worse  than 
nothing.  Give  my  love  to  the  elder  children  and  kiss  the  little  ones 

(79) 
for  me,  and  return  my  respects  to  Miss  Pickering  and  such  other  of 

your  friends  as  have  sent  me  any. 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  THE  REV.  JESSE  APPLETON,  D.  D. 

WASHINGTON,  January  29,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  your  letter  of  the  14th  of  January,  for 
which  I  thank  you. 

When  the  peace  overture  (as  the  administration  people  call  it) 
was  first  received  and  accepted  by  our  government,  strong  expecta 
tions  were  entertained  that  the  negotiation  must  end  in  peace.  But 
after  more  deliberate  reflection,  much  doubt  is  expressed  of  the 
result. 

In  their  present  depressed  and  disturbed  condition  the  adminis 
tration  party  doubtless  wish  for  peace.  They  would  at  the  present 
time  accept  of  a  peace  on  any  terms  which  would  afford  them  a 
good  prospect  of  retaining  their  power.  I  am  of  the  opinion  they  are 
much  more  anxious  to  perpetuate  their  own  power  than  to  secure 
the  nation  from  disgrace,  distress,  or  even  ruin.  This  ought  not  to 
be  believed  of  all  of  them,  but  I  do  believe  it  justly  applies  to  a  ma 
jority  of  them. 

The  total  failure  of  our  and  the  French  arms  has  alarmed  them. 
Any  trifling  success  of  either  would  change  both  their  feelings  and 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  79 


wishes.  But  even  if  they  should  continue  to  wish  for  peace,  as  it  is 
probable  they  will,  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  can  obtain  such  terms 
as  they  will  dare  accept.  After  destroying  the  commerce  of  the 
country  and  incurring  an  immense  debt,  they  must  obtain  from 
Great  Britain  the  appearance  of  some  concession,  or  hazard  the 
loss  of  their  own  power. 

Of  what  she  calls  her  commercial  rights,  Great  Britain  will  in 
reality  concede  nothing. 

I  have  seen  a  letter  of  recent  date  from  a  character  of  very  high 
standing  in  England,  saying  that  though  desirous  of  peace  the 

(80) 
government  and  people  are  on  this  subject  united  and  determined. 

The  same  may  be  inferred  from  the  Prince  Regent's  speech  to  Par- 
liaiment  from  Lord  Castlereagh's  dispatch  to  our  government,  and 
from  the  former  negotiations.  It  is  believed  Great  Britain  will  at 
the  present  time  be  extremely  cautious  on  this  point.  She  knows 
all  the  nations  of  Europe  are  jealous  of  her  naval  power,  and  justly 
fears  that  when  freed  from  the  French  tyranny  on  land,  they  will 
endeavor  to  fix  limits  to  this  naval  power.  She  will  therefore  be 
cautious  how  she  concedes  anything  which  she  claims  as  a  right, 
through  fear  that  it  may  induce  those  nations  to  press  her  on  other 
points,  and  that  such  concession  may  in  some  measure  be  urged  as 
a  precedent.  For  the  same  reason  there  will  be  a  difficulty  in  ob 
taining  the  mere  semblance  of  a  concession  to  enable  our  government 
to  gull  the  people.  Perhaps  some  device  may  be  hit  on  to  answer 
this  purpose.  On  the  great  point  of  difference,  the  right  of  Great 
Britain  to  take  her  seamen  from  our  merchant  vessels,  it  is  sup 
posed  by  some  she  will  agree  to  forbear  the  exercise  of  the  right 
for  a  short  period  (by  way  of  experiment  to  see  what  would  be  the 
effect)  on  condition  we  totally  forbear  to  employ  her  seamen  in  the 
mean  time.  I  think  it  probable  some  such  expedient  may  be  agreed 
on.  But  many  believe  our  government  have  no  intention  for  peace 
on  any  terms;  that  this  negotiation  is  opened  for  no  other  purpose 
but  to  obtain  loans,  fill  the  army,  and  gain  popularity.  The  char 
acter  of  the  envoys  lately  appointed,  and  some  other  circumstances, 
tend  to  support  such  an  opinion. 

You  express  a  wish  that  Mr.  King  might  be  the  envoy.  There 
was  some  talk  among  his  friends  here  of  the  sa^ne  kind.  But  no- 


80  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


body  who  knew  the  President  and  his  supporters  believed  there  was 
the  least  chance  for  it.  Mr.  Bayard,  you  know,  was  a  federalist  of 
pretty  fair  character.  He  is,  however,  very  ambitious,  and  had  a 
strong  desire  to  visit  Europe.  Fears  are  entertained  that  he  and 
Mr.  Madison  have  a  more  intimate  understanding  than  the  public 
know  of.  I  do  not  believe  that  Mr.  Bayard,  when  he  left  this  coun- 

(81) 
try,  expected  to  make  a  treaty  under  the  Russian  mediation.     They 

could  have  no  hopes  of  managing  Mr.  King. 

If  you  were  not  aided  by  certain  theological  opinions  somewhat 
unfavorable  to  human  nature,  you  would  find  it  difficult  to  conceive 
the  degree  of  wickedness  and  total  depravity  to  which  our  great 
men  here  have  arrived.  They  have  drunk  deeply  at  the  French 
fountain.  Wickedness  and  corruption  constitute  the  only  bond 
which  unites  them.  They  entertain  the  most  violent  jealousy  and 
hatred  towards  each  other.  I  have  lately  received  from  a  source 
not  to  be  doubted,  a  budget  of  stories  and  projects  which  were  in 
tended  to  be  put  off  for  great  secrets.  Some  of  the  particulars 
were  new,  but  in  the  result  not  calculated  to  work  any  change  of 
opinion. 

The  individuals  composing  the  administration  and  their  imme 
diate  supporters,  are  often  contriving  plans  to  destroy  each  other. 
Fear  of  destroying  themselves  restrains  them.  How  long  such  a 
bond  of  union  will  protect  them  I  cannot  say.  There  has  been  an 
intention  to  turn  Armstrong  out  of  office,  which  would  have  made  a 
great  explosion. 

Old  General  Dearborn  was  to  have  been  again  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  army.  But  I  believe  A.  has  bullied  them  out  of  it.  He  in 
tends  to  run  down  all  the  old  generals  who  I  really  believe  are  good 
for  nothing.  He  wants  to  be  at  the  head  of  the  army  himself,  but 
it  is  very  doubtful  whether  he  will  succeed.  He  has  more  reputa 
tion  for  talents  than  any  man  in  the  administration. 

There  have  been  some  very  animated  debates  in  both  houses  on 
the  bill  increasing  the  bounty  for  enlistments.  No  effect  was  pro 
duced  in  Congress,  and  probably  will  riot  be  anywhere  else. 

A  few  days  ago  I  moved  a  resolution  in  the  Senate  declaring  the 
Treasury  vacant  by  reason  of  Gallatin's  absence.  It  is  ordered  to 
be  taken  into  consideration  a  week  from  next  Monday.  There  is 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  81 


good  prospect  of  carrying  it  at  this  time,  but  I  fear  some  who  it  is 
expected  will  vote  for  it  will  fail  us.  If  carried  it  will  be  severely 
felt  by  the  President. 

(82) 

The  doings  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  excite  considerable 
attention.  I  fear  they  will  go  too  far,  and  that  the  people  will  not 
support  them.  I  think  they  ought  to  follow  and  not  lead  public 
opinion.  I  have  not  much  information  on  the  subject,  but  I  do  not 
believe  the  people  of  New  England  are  prepared  to  support  the 
strong  declarations  made  by  your  Legislature.  Indeed  I  do  not  sup 
pose  that  anything  more  than  mere  declaration  is  intended  at  the 
present.1 

I  rejoice  that  Mrs.  Appleton  continues  so  well.  Please  to  make 
my  respects  to  her,  and  believe  me  to  be  sincerely  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

The  intention  of  invading  Florida  has  subsided  with  the  defeat 
of  Bonaparte. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

SUNDAY   EVENING,  Febmiary   6,   1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  have  not  been  at  church  today,  but  have 
been  pretty  much  employed  in  my  chamber  in  examining  the  merits 
of  certain  resolutions  I  moved  a  few  days  ago  respecting  a  vacancy 
in  the  Treasury  Department,  by  reason  of  the  absence  of  Mr.  Gal- 
latin.  They  have  excited  some  attention,  and  are  assigned  to  be 
debated  tomorrow.  I  expect  the  administration  party  will  post 
pone  them  and  not  suffer  the  debate  to  be  gone  into,  or  the  resolu 
tions  to  be  in  any  way  acted  on  at  present.  This  however  is  doubt 
ful.  There  is  so!me  prospect  we  can  get  a  majority  in  favor  of  the 

1  The  Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  in  the  winter  session  of  1814,  took 
very  strong  ground  against  the  war  and  the  'policy  of  the  administration,  and 
more  thon  once  went  to  the  extreme  bounds,  alike  of  prudence  and  patriotism, 
if  not  beyond  them.  Mr.  Mason  had  too  much  wisdom  and  too  calm  a  tempera 
ment  to  approve  their  course.  He  here  is  doubtless  alluding  to  the  answer  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  to  the  Governor's  speech,  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Otis, 
and  adopted  by  a  large  majority,  January  21,  1814.  See  Columbian  Centinel  for 
January  26,  1814. 


82  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


resolutions  in  the  Senate.  If  so,  the  President  will  be  in  trouble, 
and  what  is  better  will  be  obliged  to  appoint  a  new  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.2  I  believe  I  should  have  been  better  employed  at  church, 

(83) 
but  the  truth  is  I  cannot  well  go  for  want  of  a  seat.     There  is  no 

place  of  public  worship  I  like,  except  the  church  at  Georgetown.  I 
have  an  invitation  into  two  pews,  but  when  I  have  gone  I  generally 
find  them  full,  and  have  to  turn  somebody  out,  which  is  unpleasant. 
The  church  is  not  larger  than  a  New  England  school-house.  I 
dined  last  week  at  a  Mr.  Peters'  whose  wife  was  a  Miss  Custis,  grand 
daughter  of  Mrs.  Washington,  with  a  very  pleasant  party  of  Kings, 
Gores,  etc.  Mrs.  Peters  is  a  fine  woman,  and  reputed  sensible. 

At  the  invitation  of  Messrs.  King  and  Gore,  and  to  help  make  up 
their  party,  I  have  been  foolish  enough  to  go  again  to  Mrs.  Madison's 
drawing-room.  I  trust  I  have  now  done  for  this  season.  I  think 

2  On  the  24th  day  of  January,  1814,  Mr.  Mason  submitted  the  following 
resolutions : — 

"Resolved,  That  the  Department  of  the  Treasury  is  a  principal  and  indis 
pensable  office  in  the  Administration  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States; 

"That  the  duties  of  this  office  are  at  all  times  important;  that  at  the  pres 
ent  time,  when  plans  of  finance  are  to  be  devised,  taxes  to  be  imposed,  loans  to 
be  obtained,  and  large  sums  of  money  to  be  expended  and  accounted  for,  these 
duties  have  become  more  arduous;  and  that  the  talents,  integrity,  and  diligence 
of  a  competent  and  responsible  officer  are  alone  sufficient  to  discharge  them; 

"That,  by  his  message  of  the  7th  of  June  last,  the  President  of  the  United 
States  informed  the  Senate  that  he  had  commissioned  Albert  Gallatin,  then  Sec 
retary  of  the  Department  of  the  Treasury,  to  proceed  to  Russia,  and  there,  with 
others,  to  negotiate  treaties  of  peace  and  commerce  with  Great  Britian,  and  a 
treaty  of  commerce  with  Russia; 

"That,  pursuant  to  such  commission,  Albert  Gallatin  departed  from  the 
United  States  in  the  month  of  May  last,  and  hath  ever  since  been,  and  still  re 
mains,  without  the  limits  of  the  United  States; 

"That,  by  reason  of  the  said  commissioning,  departure,  and  absence  from  the 
United  States  of  the  said  Albert  Gallatin,  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury  became  vacant,  and  is  now  vacant; 

"That  such  vacancy,  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  affects 
the  public  credit,  retards  the  current  service,  endangers  the  general  welfare,  and 
ought  no  longer  to  exist." 

These  resolutions  came  up  for  consideration  on  Monday,  February  7th,  and 
after  a  brief  discussion  between  Mr.  Mason  and  Mr.  Bibb,  of  Georgia,  were 
postponed  to  the  succeeding  Friday,  but  on  that  day  Mr.  Campbell,  of  Tennessee, 
announced  his  resignation  of  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  and  was  immediately  after 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  83 


less  favorably  of  peace  than  when  I  wrote  you  last  about  it 

I  am,  as  always,  affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  10,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  have  been  gratified  with  your  letter  of  31st 
January,  I  am  glad  Miss  Marsh  is  with  you.  I  trust  from  your 
account  of  her  you  will  be  pleased  with  her  society.  I  believe  I 
mentioned  to  you  in  one  of  my  letters  that  I  had  moved  a  resolu 
tion  in  relation  to  the  vacancy  of  the  Treasury  Department.  The 
object  was  to  compel  the  President  to  appoint  a  new  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury.  When  the  resolution  was  called  up  last  Monday,  I 
was  prepared,  with  others,  to  go  into  a  discussion  of  some  length. 
One  of  the  administration  people  moved  to  postpone  it,  assigning 
for  reason,  that  the  President  would  in  a  day  or  two  nominate  a  new 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  To  this  I  assented.  It  was  considered 
here  as  somewhat  of  a  triumph  to  compel  the  President  to  appoint 
a  Secretary,  as  it  is  believed  contrary  to  his  previous  intentions. 
He  has  since  nominated  G.  W.  Campbell,  a  Senator  from  Tennessee, 
who  has  been  approved  by  the  Senate.  He  has  few  of  the  neces 
sary  qualifications  for  the  office. 

The  Goldsboroughs  who  I  mentioned  to  you,  have  come  here.    The 

nominated  and  confirmed  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

The  object  proposed  by  the  resolutions  having  been  accomplished,  Mr.  Mason, 
on  the  14th  of  February,  moved  the  indefinite  postponement  of  his  motion,  and 
submitted  the  following  resolution: — 

"Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  inquire  in  what  cases  the 
President  of  the  United  States  may,  consistently  with  the  Constitution,  be  au 
thorized  by  law  to  appoint  persons,  without  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate, 
to  perform  the  duties  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury,  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  And  also  to 
inquire  whether  it  is  necessary  or  expedient  to  repeal  or  amend  the  act  of  the 
8th  of  May,  1792,  entitled,  'An  Act  making  alterations  in  the  Treasury  and  War 
Departments/  and  the  Act  of  the  13th  of  February,  1795,  amending  the  afore 
said  act;  and  that  said  committee  report  by  bill  or  otherwise." 

Mr.  Mason,  Mr.  Giles,  and  Mr.  King,  were  appointed  the  committee  on  the 
above  resolution,  but  no  report  was  made  by  them,  and  the  subject  appears  to 
have  been  dropped. 

(84) 


84  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


youngest  daughter  was  lately  married.  Last  evening  they  went  to 
the  Queen's  drawing-room.  I  was  much  urged  to  accompany  them 
but  declined.  It  is  rather  a  stupid  place  to  frequent  often.  I  have  as 
much  society  here  as  I  wish  for.  Perhaps  one  reason  is  that  I  do  not 
wish  for  a  great  deal Sincerely  and  affectionately  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

(85) 
JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  13th  February,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  have  received  your  very  excellent  letter  of 
6th  inst.  I  have  expressed  my  wishes  to  have  particular  attention 
paid  to  the  education  and  morals  of  the  children.  But  I  have  no 
fear  that  you  will  omit  anything  in  your  power,  and  I  hope  that  my 
absence  will  not  be  any  special  inconvenience  to  them.  Be  assured, 
however,  my  desire  to  return  home  is  not  exceeded  by  yours  to  have 
me  return.  The  weather  has  been  for  some  time  very  unpleasant. 
There  has  been  but  one  clear,  sun-shining  day  for  a  fortnight.  It  is 
warm  but  cloudy  and  wet.  My  health,  however,  continues  good. 
Were  it  not  for  the  deprivation  of  all  domestic  society  and  enjoy 
ment,  I  should  like  my  situation  here  pretty  well.  This  loss  I  feel 
very  grievously.  I  am  in  company  not  a  great  deal,  but  as  much  as 
I  wish  to  be.  I  am  so  far  from  the  Capitol  as  not  to  be  exposed  to 
very  frequent  calls  and  interruptions  of  Congress  people.  By  this 
means  I  have  more  leisure  and  better  command  of  my  time  than  I 
otherwise  should  have.  I  dine  out  not  very  often.  Indeed  there  is 
not  great  danger  of  it.  Invitations  are  not  very  pressing.  In 
mixed  tea-drinking  parties  I  find  not  much  amusement  and  still  less 
instruction.  I  shall  have  little  to  do  with  them.  I  wish  you  to  tell 
me  what  is  said  of  the  prospect  of  success  at  the  approaching  election. 
Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  23,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — .  .  .  .  My  resolutions  which  you  mention  an 
swered  all  the  purpose  intended.  To  avoid  a  discussion,  the  Presi 
dent,  contrary  to  everybody's  expectation,  appointed  a  new  Secretary 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  85 


of  the  Treasury.  Our  people  considered  it  a  triumph.  I  shall  in 
a  few  days  have  the  subject  up  in  a  new  form,  which  will  afford  an 
opportunity  to  review  the  President's  conduct,  and  provide  against 

(86) 
it  in  future.     The  new  Secretary  is  good  for  nothing,  but  that  is  not 

our  fault.  I  perceive  by  your  letters  you  have  an  inclination  to 
become  a  politician.  As  my  taste  is  inclining  that  way,  I  do  not 
dislike  being  joined  by  you.  I  fear  the  journey  may  not  prove  very 
pleasant.  I  intend  to  retain  the  power  of  stopping  and  turning  back 
when  tired.  When  that  shall  happen,  I  have  no  doubt  you  also  will 
be  enough  tired  of  the  pursuit  to  join  me  in  quitting  it. 

As  always,  sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  21,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — It  is  almost  a  week  since  I  received  any  let 
ters  from  you  or  the  children.  You  must  write  often.  If  you  do 
not  find  time  to  write  long  letters,  write  short  letters.  I  want  to 
hear  from  you  often.  Affairs  here  go  on  much  in  the  usual  style. 
The  government  conduct  badly,  and  the  opposition  complain  griev 
ously.  I  see  little  prospect  of  things  mending  for  the  better.  The 
government  is  often  perplexed  and  embarrassed,  but  they  have  no 
intention  of  changing  their  course,  and  will  not  do  it  till  compelled. 
I  do  not  see  much  chance  of  things  getting  into  a  better  channel. 
Mr.  Francis  Blake,  who  has  been  here  several  days,  says  he  expects 
his  brother  George  and  wife  here  in  a  few  days.  Richard  Derby 
and  his  celebrated  wife  arrived  here  two  days  ago.  Master  Richard 
called  on  me  yesterday.  I  think  it  probable  I  shall  see  his  wife,  as 
I  suppose  she  has  come  here  to  show  herself.  I  was  invited  to  spend 
this  evening  at  Mrs.  King  and  Gore's,  where  she  was  to  be,  but  I 
was  detained  by  engagements  at  home.  I  take  little  interest  in  the 
generality  of  the  company  I  see  here.  Mr.  Granger,  the  Postmaster- 
general,  has  just  been  turned  out  of  office.  It  makes  considerable 
noise,  but  will  soon  blow  over.  I  believe  all  the  children  owe  me  let 
ters.  I  hope  the  dear  little  souls  are  well.  Give  my  love  to  them  all. 

With  sincere  affection,  yours,  J.  MASON. 

(87) 


86  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  March  20,   1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — .  ...  I  continue  to  enjoy  good  health,  and 
except  when  vexed  by  the  recollection  of  the  situation  of  public 
affairs,  in  pretty  good  spirits.  I  entertain  very  unfavorable  opinions 
of  the  conduct  and  characters  of  the  persons  in  government.  With 
few  exceptions  their  object  is  personal  aggrandizement,  which  they 
pursue  without  much  regard  to  the  public  good.  The  means  they 
use  to  effect  their  purposes  are  sometimes  mean  and  base,  and  wholly 
unfit  for  honorable  men.  Entertaining  such  opinions  of  them,  you 
may  be  sure  I  court  no  personal  intercourse  with  them.  The  little 
intercourse  I  have  with  them  is  formal  and  ceremonious.  My  second 
invitation  to  dine  at  the  palace  (which  is  a  matter  of  course)  I  de 
clined  for  indisposition.  Among  those  who  generally  support  the 
administration,  there  certainly  are  some  honest,  honorable,  and  lofty- 
minded  men.  They  sometimes  find  themselves  embarrassed  in  sup 
porting  the  measures  of  the  government.  In  the  opposition  may 
doubtless  be  found  many  ambitious  men,  but  with  few  exceptions  I 
think  their  objects  are  honorable,  and  if  attained  would  prove  bene 
ficial  to  their  country.  The  Mr.  Blakes  have  returned  home.  I  saw 
but  little  of  them.  Ogilvie  has  been  here  delivering  his  orations  and 
recitations  some  time.  I  have  not  yet  been  to  hear  him,  but  intend 
to.  He  inquired  after  you  and  his  Portsmouth  friends  with  appar 
ent  interest.  I  intend  to  write  to  the  children  if  I  have  time.  Make 
my  respects  to  Mr.  Fales  and  Miss  Marsh. 

I  am,  truly  yours,  J.  MASON. 

P.  S. — The  news  we  have  of  the  New  Hampshire  election  is  not 
very  gratifying.  We  suppose  it  carried  by  a  very  slim  majority. 

(88) 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  THE  REV.  JESSE  APPLETON,  D.  D. 

WASHINGTON,  March  27,   1814. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  did  not  intend  to  have  neglected  so  long  to 
answer  your  letter.  Some  engagements  and  much  habitual  indolence 
must  be  my  excuse. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  87 


I  agree  with  you  in  opinion  that  the  Legislature  of  Massachu 
setts,  in  their  late  measures  of  opposition,  went  quite  as  far  as  duty 
or  prudence  would  permit.  The  situation  of  the  nation  is  in  many 
respects  truly  deplorable,  and  the  prospect  of  a  change  for  the  bet 
ter  almost  hopeless.  I  cannot,  however,  think  it  prudent  to  excite 
among  the  people  an  inclination  to  look  to  a  dissolution  of  the  Union 
for  relief.  I  do  not  believe  any  considerable  number  have  even  thought 
of  attempting  it.  I  am  confident  the  people  in  no  section  of  the 
Union  are  prepared  to  think  favorably  of  such  an  attempt.  I  am 
pretty  well  informed  of  the  extent  of  the  projects  in  Massachusetts. 
They  went  far  enough;  but  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  was  not  in 
tended.  All  the  advice  from  this  place  dissuaded  from  violent  meas 
ures.  It  is  not  easy  to  point  out  the  means  of  relieving  the  country 
from  its  present  distress;  but  surely  a  dissolution  of  the  govern 
ment  should  be  the  last  resort.  It  is  a  sort  of  suicide.  If  effected 
it  would  ruin  the  country.  The  attempt  without  success  would  ruin 
the  party  making  it.  Suppose  the  present  government  destroyed, 
is  it  certain  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States  could  again  agree  to 
associate  under  any  form  of  government?  If  they  did,  would  they 
get  a  better  government  than  the  present,  or  would  it  not  probably 
be  as  badly  administered.  .Where  is  the  security  of  being  more  free 
from  internal  faction  and  the  corrupt  influence  of  wicked  demagogues  ? 
We  should  certainly  be  more  exposed  to  foreign  influence,  and  be  in 
constant  danger  of  collision  with  the  States  not  associated  with  us. 

Indeed  I  see  no  probable  way  in  which  a  dissolution  of  the  Union 
would  take  place  without  a  civil  war.     Such  a  war  might  terminate 
12  (89) 

in  the  establishment  of  separate  governments,  but  I  think  more 
probably  in  an  arbitrary  government  over  the  whole.  At  present 
there  is  in  this  country  little  fear  of  jealousy  of  the  exercise  of  arbi 
trary  power.  The  people  never  having  suffered  to  any  considerable 
degree  from  such  power  know  not  its  evil  effects.  They  love  the 
theory  of  a  free  government  because  they  have  always  heard  it 
praised,  and  they  love  the  practice  of  it  because  they  have  long 
lived  happy  under  it.  They  also  hate  both  the  principles  and  prac 
tice  of  an  arbitrary  government,  but  they  do  not  fear  them.  They 
seem  to  think  there  is  no  possibility  of  the  establishment  of  an 
arbitrary  government  in  this  country.  I  cannot  help  thinking  some- 


88  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


times  that  this  extreme  confidence  in  our  supposed  safety  is  danger 
ous.  After  witnessing  the  wonderful  revolutions  of  the  govern 
ments  and  conditions  of  the  nations  of  the  world  within  the  last 
twenty  years,  brought  about  also  by  the  consent  or  culpable  apathy 
of  the  people,  we  ought  not  too  readily  to  believe  it  impossible  that 
something  of  a  similar  nature  may  happen  in  our  own  country. 

Our  political  institutions  are  new  and  not  very  well  understood 
by  the  people.  Our  government  is  weak,  and  has  been  for  the  last 
thirteen  years  carried  on  by  courting  their  prejudices  and  worst 
passions.  I  am  not  certain  that  our  people  are  so  much  more  en 
lightened  and  virtuous  than  the  rest  of  mankind,  as  their  dema 
gogues  are  constantly  telling  them.  We  are  not  without  ambitious 
spirits  ready  to  take  advantage  of  occasions.  I  do  not,  however, 
believe  there  is  any  immediate  danger  of  the  establishment  of  an 
arbitrary  government  by  usurpation.  I  think  the  country  is  not  yet 
prepared  for  it,  but  I  fear  it  is  preparing.  I  do  not  see  much  chance 
of  the  government's  getting  into  better  hands.  Should  that  happen, 
no  men  in  the  nation  could  raise  it  from  its  present  degraded  condi 
tion  up  to  the  tone  and  style  of  Washington. 

The  government  must  probably  for  many  years  remain  in  this 
degraded  state,  vibrating  between  life  and  death.  The  administra 
tion  may  often  pass  from  one  faction  to  another.  Each  faction,  with 
intent  of  securing  the  continuance  of  their  power,  will  gratify  the 

(90) 
worst  prejudices  of  the  people,  and  pursue  measures  they  know  to 

be  base  and  unworthy.  Such  a  course  would  probably  soon  end  in 
confusion,  out  of  which  might  arise  a  new  order  of  things,  were  it 
not  that  the  State  governments  will  be  able,  as  it  is  hoped,  to  afford 
a  tolerable  degree  of  security  for  individual  rights. 

Serious  apprehensions  are  entertained  for  the  loan  of  the  present 
year.  The  government  dare  not  lay  new  taxes,  or  even  perpetuate 
the  old  ones,  and  pledge  them  for  the  redemption  of  the  loan.  I 
think  the  loan  will  be  obtained,  but  probably  on  terms  very  disadvan 
tageous  to  the  country.  A  project  is  just  started  of  creating  a  Na 
tional  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  thirty  millions  to  aid  the  loan. 

General  Hampton  has  resigned.  Wilkinson  will  be  laid  aside.  It 
is  probable  a  court  of  inquiry  is  ordered  on  the  subject  of  his  last 
campaign.  Contrary  to  expectation  last  fall,  Harrison  will  be  kept 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  89 


in  Ohio  or  among  the  Indians.  The  young  Generals  Izard,  Brown, 
McComb,  Smith,  etc.,  will  be  brought  forward.  Izard  will  probably 
have  the  chief  command.  I  think  no  Lieutenant-General  will  be 
appointed. 

The  Secretary  of  War  will  keep  all  the  operations  of  the  army  as 
much  as  possible  under  his  own  direction.  He  has  the  reputation 
of  more  talents  than  any  other  in  the  administration. 

Till  within  a  few  days  it  was  confidently  expected  Congress  would 
rise  the  llth  April.  It  is  now  doubted.  I  hope  to  be  at  home  by 
the  last  of  April. 

You  seem  to  have  a  good  prospect  of  preaching  quantum  sufficit 
at  Boston  elections.  I  think  they  are  disposed  to  draw  rather  heavily 
on  you.  My  respects  to  Mrs.  Appleton. 

I  am  as  always  truly  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  April  7,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  can  give  you  no  more  certain  information 
respecting  the  rising  of  Congress  than  in  my  last.  The  House  of 

(91) 
Representatives  are  now  employed   in  repealing  the  embargo  and 

non-intercourse  acts,  and  on  a  bill  to  incorporate  a  great  national 
bank.  Several  other  projects  are  on  foot  which  will  consume  con 
siderable  time.  The  spring  is  coming  forward  rapidly.  The  cherry- 
trees  are  in  full  bloom,  and  the  weather  has  become  mild  and  pleas 
ant.  I  wish  very  ardently  to  be  on  my  way  home.  I  have  become 
tired  of  being  here,  and  almost  everything  and  everybody  I  see  here. 
You  may  therefore  be  certain  I  shall  write  you  as  soon  as  I  can. 

Give  my  respects  to  Mr.  Fales  and  Miss  Marsh,  and  love  to  the 
children. 

Sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

PHILADELPHIA,  April  22,   1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  went  on  board  the  steamboat,  as  I  wrote  you 
I  intended,  in  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday.     It  was  stormy  when  we 


90  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


set  out,  and  increased  during  the  night,  which  was  extremely  dark. 
About  midnight  the  boat  struck  on  a  sand-bank.  It  was  so  dark 
that  nothing  could  be  seen.  We  supposed  ourselves  near  the  west 
ern  shore.  In  that  situation  the  boat  remained  till  daylight,  when 
we  discovered  ourselves  to  be  near  the  middle  of  a  narrow  part  of 
the  bay,  two  or  three  miles  from  either  shore.  Had  we  known  our 
situation  during  the  night  we  should  have  felt  somewhat  uneasy. 
The  tide  set  the  boat  afloat  at  six  o'clock,  and  without  further  diffi 
culty  we  got  to  Frenchtown  at  noon.  In  the  afternoon  we  crossed 
the  isthmus  to  Newcastle,  on  the  Delaware,  and  there  went  on  board 
another  steamboat,  which  brought  us  here  about  two  o'clock  last 
night.  The  weather  has  been  very  bad,  which  has  made  the  roads 
unusually  bad.  Thus  far,  however,  I  have  come  on  without  much 
fatigue,  and  am  entirely  well.  I  intend  to  set  out  tomorrow  or  on 
Sunday  for  New  York,  in  a  line  of  stages  which  goes  through  Somer 
set  in  New  Jersey,  north  of  the  common  route,  and  is  two  days  in 
going  through.  The  roads  that  way  are  said  to  be  pretty  (92)  good,  a 
part  of  the  other  way  almost  impassable.  The  stages  are  much 
crowded.,  In  your  last  letter  you  mentioned  that  there  was  talk  at 
Portsmouth  of  danger  from  the  enemy.  I  have  since  seen  a  para 
graph  in  the  newspapers  that  a  squadron  was  supposed  to  have  been 
seen  off  the  Isle  of  Shoals,  and  that  the  vessels  had  been  moved  up 
the  river.  I  hope  there  is  no  occasion  for  the  alarm.  If  an  attack 
should  be  made,  it  must  be  known  several  hours  before  the  enemy 
can  be  in  possession  of  the  town.  I  wish  you  not  to  be  alarmed  by 
conjectures  or  idle  reports.  If,  however,  a  real  attack  is  made  (as 
I  have  before  told  you) ,  I  wish  you  immediately  to  fly  into  the  country. 
The  best  road  will  probably  be  towards  Exeter.  Do  not  delay  to  re 
move  furniture.  Put  a  few  light  articles  of  most  value  into  the  horse- 
cart  with  yourself  and  children,  and  take  Mr.  Fales  or  Joshua  to  con 
duct  you.  If  Joshua  or  some  of  the  servants  would  tarry  at  the  house 
it  would  be  best.  I  doubt  whether  they  would.  Joshua  would  prob 
ably  be  called  out  with  the  militia.  If  none  would  tarry,  let  them 
follow  you.  Shut  up  the  house  and  secure  it  as  well  as  you  can 
from  thieves,  in  case  the  enemy  should  let  it  alone.  Their  principal 
object  will  be  the  destruction  of  the  seventy-four  gun  ship.  I  do  not 
expect  they  would  attempt  a  landing  in  the  town,  should  they  destroy 
or  try  to  destroy  the  ship.  I  wish  you,  however,  not  to  rely  on  that ; 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  91 


but  if  an  attack  should  be  made  on  navy-yard  or  port,  instantly  to 
retire.  I  do  not  suppose  there  is  any  probability  of  such  an  attempt. 
I  still  wish  you  to  be  prepared  how  to  act  in  case  of  such  an  event, 
so  as  not  to  lose  time  by  indecision.  At  New  York  I  shall  expect 
a  letter  from  you.  Should  the  alarm  continue,  I  shall  hasten  home  as 
fast  as  possible.  I  shall  set  out  for  New  York  tomorrow,  if  I  can 
get  a  seat  in  the  stage  without  being  excessively  crowded.  I  want 
to  tarry  in  New  York  a  day  or  two  if  I  can. 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

The  third  session  of  the  Thirteenth  Congress  began  on  the  19th 
day  of  September,  1814,  having  been  summoned  by  a  special  proc- 

(93) 
lamation  of  the  President.     The  events  which  had  taken  place  since 

the  adjournment  in  March,  were  not  of  a  kind  to  exhilarate  the 
public  mind  or  lessen  the  task  of  the  administration.  On  the  Ni 
agara  frontier,  the  tarnished  honor  of  American  arms  had  been  in 
some  degree  restored  by  the  gallantry  and  good  conduct  of  General 
Brown  and  General  Scott ;  but  in  settling  the  military  account  of  the 
summer,  the  balance  was  decidedly  against  us,  and  the  war  had 
gradually  passed  from  an  offensive  to  a  defensive  kind.  The  national 
pride  had  been  deeply  wounded  by  the  capture  of  the  Chesapeake  in 
June.  The  eastern  coast  of  Maine  was  in  possession  of  the  enemy, 
and  most  of  the  seaport  towns  were  blockaded  by  his  fleets.  In  Aug 
ust  a  British  force  had  marched  to  Washington,  burned  the  Capitol, 
the  President's  house,  and  some  of  the  other  public  buildings,  and 
retired.  In  local  and  state  elections  the  Democratic  party  had 
lost  ground,  and  sullen  and  ominous  clouds  of  opposition  were  gath 
ering  in  the  northern  heavens.  The  currency  was  disordered,  the 
finances  were  in  the  greatest  confusion,  the  expenses  of  the  govern 
ment  far  outran  its  income,  and  in  consequence  its  credit  had  sunk 
so  low  that  the  poor  resource  of  borrowing,  on  which  it  had  thus 
far  relied  to  supply  the  deficiency,  seemed  likely  to  stop.  The  ad 
ministration  were  at  their  wits'  end,  and  the  President's  special  mes 
sage  at  the  opening  of  the  session  was  a  pathetic  appeal  to  the  coun 
try  for  men  and  money. 

Mr.  Mason  did  not  take  his  seat  till  the  4th  day  of  October,  and 
he  remained  in  Washington  till  the  24th  day  of  February,  a  few 


92  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


days  before  the  close  of  the  session.  He  was  constant  in  his  place 
in  the  Senate,  and  his  name  appears  in  several  occasional  commit 
tees.  He  made  an  elaborate  speech  on  the  Militia  Bill,  hereinafter 
noticed.  Much  of  the  time  of  both  houses  of  Congress  was  given 
to  the  question  of  a  bank  of  the  United  States,  and  Mr.  Mason,  who 
understood  the  subjects  of  banking  and  the  currency,  doubtless  took 
part  in  the  Senate  discussions  on  the  subject,  but  the  system  of  re 
porting  was  very  imperfect  in  those  days,  and  much  of  what  was 
said  in  debate  was  never  set  down. 

(94) 
His  letters  to  his  wife  and  his  friend  Dr.  Appleton  give   us 

glimpses  of  the  course  of  public  business  and  of  his  share  in  it. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  October  6,   1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — .  .  .  .  The  expectation  of  a  removal  to  Phil 
adelphia  gains  strength.  It  will  be  determined  in  a  few  days  in  the 
House  of  Representatives.  I  still  think  the  issue  very  doubtful. 
The  discussion  has  created  a  most  violent  excitement  among  the 
people  of  this  district  and  vicinity.  The  derangement  occasioned 
by  the  visit  of  the  enetoiy  to  this  place  is  much  greater  than  I  nad 
supposed.  The  destruction  of  the  public  buildings  and  papers  pro 
duces  serious  inconvenience.  The  Administration  are  severely  and 
almost  universally  condemned  for  their  misconduct  on  that  occasion. 
They  seem  to  be  falling  into  general  contempt.  Poor  Mrs.  Madison, 
it  is  said,  shows  the  most  sensibility  on  the  subject.  In  her  flight  from 
the  enemy,  she  was  not  only  without  assistance  or  consolation  from 
the  inhabitants,  but  treated  with  abuse.,  The  President  left  her  to 
shift  for  herself.  She  often  heard  her  husband  execrated  for  his  mis 
conduct  and  pusillanimity.  On  the  night  the  British  occupied  the 
city,  she  attempted  to  find  refuge  in  a  private  room  of  an  inn,  about 
twenty  miles  distant,  which  was  occupied  by  a  lady  who  rudely  and 
peremptorily  ordered  her  to  depart.  The  disgraceful  and  distressing 
stories  told  are  innumerable. 

Sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  93 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  October  8,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — Nothing  has  yet  taken  place  which  is  consid 
ered  in  any  measure  conclusive  on  the  question  of  removal.  Were 
it  not  for  the  excitement  and  clamor  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  place, 
I  should  expect  we  should  remove.  As  the  matter  is,  I  am  wholly 

(95) 

in  doubt  as  to  the  final  determination.  The  government  is  in  utter 
confusion  and  distress.  Without  a  cabinet,  without  credit  or  money, 
the  nation  is  in  a  most  deplorable  condition.  Opinions  of  the  pros 
pect  of  peace  are  as  various  as  they  were  with  us  before  I  left  you. 
The  intention  of  the  government  seems  to  be  to  lay  heavy  taxes  to  re 
store  their  credit. 

Tell  Mary  I  received  her  letter  and  will  answer  it  soon. 

Faithfully  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  October  16,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, —  ....  The  House  of  Representatives  yester 
day  determined,  by  a  majority  of  five  or  six  votes,  against  removing 
to  Philadelphia.  I  was  prepared  to  expect  it.  If  the  war  continues, 
I  think  the  government  will  be  removed  from  this  place  within  a 
year  from  this  time.  More  despatches  are  expected  soon  from  our 
Commissioners  at  Ghent,  which  will  probably  give  notice  that  the 
negotiation  is  ended.  There  is  a  possibility,  but  little  probability, 
the  negotiation  may  be  continued  and  terminate  in  peace.  Some 
of  the  terms  proposed  by  the  British  envoys  are  wholly  inadmissible. 
Our  government  is  destitute  of  everything  the  exigency  of  the  times 
requires.  The  country  must  probably  encounter  extreme  suffering. 
I  do  not  believe  the  enemy  thinks  of  attempting  a  permanent  con 
quest  of  any  portion  of  our  country.  I  am  glad  the  alarm  and  appre 
hension  of  the  people  at  Portsmouth  has  in  some  measure  subsided. 
I  do  not,  however,  from  this  infer  that  the  real  danger  is  lessened.  I 
wish  you  to  continue  in  the  same  preparation  for  removal  till  the 
middle  of  November.  After  that  time  the  boisterous  weather  will 


94  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


afford  a  defense.     I  had  not  much  real  apprehension  of  an  attack 
when  I  left  you.     It  is,  however,  still  possible. 

Faithfully  and  affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

(96) 
JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MISS  MARY  E.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  June  24,  1813. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  am  very  glad  you  remembered  to  write  me 
on  Wednesday  in  the  afternoon  as  I  requested  you.  When  I  am 
so  far  distant  from  all  those  I  love  best,  it  affords  me  great  pleasure 
to  hear  from  them  often.  I  therefore  request  you  to  continue  to 
write  to  me  at  least  once  a  week.  As  soon  as  you  have  learned  a 
little  more  French  you  may  write  to  me  in  French,  and  I  will  en 
deavor  to  construe  your  letters.  I  presume  it  will  take  me  longer  to 
construe  them  than  it  will  you  to  write  them.  I  wish  you  to  perfect 
yourself  in  French  as  fast  as  possible.  I  intend  to  go  to  studying  it 
when  I  come  home,  and  I  shall  want  you  to  assist  in  instructing  me. 
I  want  to  see  you  all  much.  Kiss  James,  Jane,  Robert,  and  little 
Charles  for  me. 

Your  affectionate  father,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MISS  MARY  E.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  23,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  was  pleased  by  receiving  your  letter,  and 
more  by  those  from  your  mother  and  Mr.  Fales  in  which  they  praise 
you.  When  I  am  removed  so  far  from  you,  and  am  often  thinking 
of  you  with  anxiety,  you  cannot  conceive  what  pleasure  it  gives  me 
to  be  assured  you  are  doing  well.  I  promise  myself  much  pleasure 
when  I  come  home  in  the  spring,  to  find  you  have  made  much  progress 
in  all  your  studies,  and  especially  in  your  French  and  music.  I  men 
tion  these  because  you  may  not  always  have  so  good  instructors  in 
those  branches.  I  wish  you  to  excel  in  everything  praiseworthy. 
Industry  will  do  all  that  is  necessary  in  your  studies.  You  must  also 
be  accomplished  in  your  manners,  amiable  in  your  temper  and  dispo 
sition.  Let  no  envious  malignant  passions  find  a  place  in  your  breast. 
If  habitually  indulged,  they  will  render  all  accomplishments  useless, 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  95 


and  destroy  your  happiness  (97)  both  in  this  and  a  future  world.    Be 

13 

diligent,  virtuous,  and  truly  religious,  and  you  will  not  only  be  happy 
yourself,  but  greatly  conduce  to  the  happiness  of  all  your  friends. 
That  you  may  do  so  is  the  earnest  prayer  of 

Your  affectionate  father,  J.  MASON. 

p.  g. — Give  my  respects  to  Miss  Payson. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MISS  MARY  E.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  October  16,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  have  received  your  second  letter,  and  am 
glad  to  see  you  are  so  willing  to  write  to  me.  I  shall  be  pleased  with 
your  letters,  however  frequent.  Your  mother  informs  me  that  you 
and  the  other  children  behave  exceedingly  well.  Be  assured  nothing 
could  give  me  more  pleasure.  Could  you  duly  appreciate  the  satis 
faction  your  good  and  correct  conduct  affords  me  I  am  confident  your 
affection  for  me,  were  there  no  other  reason,  would  induce  you  to 
persevere  in  it.  Children  can  hardly  conceive  to  what  a  degree  their 
conduct  affects  the  happiness  of  their  parents.  I  am  certain  my 
happiness  in  this  world  will  depend  in  a  great  measure  on  my  chil 
dren.  It  will  be  my  endeavor  that  they  shall  not  be  disappointed  in 
any  just  and  reasonable  expectation  from  me,  and  I  trust  none  of 
them  will  disappoint  my  hopes. 

Your  affectionate  father,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MISS  MARY  E.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  October  20,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — You  have  written  me  two  letters  which  I  have 
not  answered.  I  ought  to  have  answered  them  sooner, — particularly 
the  one  in  which  you  inform  me  of  your  heroic  conduct  in  having 
those  two  teeth  extracted.  I  am  exceedingly  glad  that  ugly  affair  is 
over,  and  greatly  commend  you  for  it.  I  do  not  doubt  the  (98)  opera 
tion  was  painful  for  a  few  minutes,  but  the  benefit  will  be  permanent. 
You  may  learn  from  this  never  to  give  way  to  idle  fears,  but  always 


96  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


to  collect  resolution  to  do  whatever  your  duty  requires.  A  timid 
person  often  suffers  much  unnecessary  pain  through  causeless  fears. 

You  express  an  apprehension  that  you  shall  not  arrive  to  any 
great  perfection  in  music.  I  thought  you  made  very  considerable 
progress  last  summer.  I  wish  you  to  persevere.  With  industry,  I 
doubt  not  you  will  soon  play  very  well. 

I  have  a  letter  from  your  uncle  Appleton,  in  which  he  says  Mary 
Appleton  will  spend  this  winter  with  you.  I  am  glad  of  it,  as  she  is 
a  good  girl  and  will  be  an  agreeable  companion  for  you.  If  she  is 
now  there  give  my  love  to  her. 

Your  affectionate  father,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  Sunday  Evening,  October  30,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — This  afternoon  I  went  to  Mr.  Addison's  little 
church,  and  heard  a  very  pious,  good  discourse.  His  is  the  most 
orderly  and  best  place  of  worship  here.  I  can  obtain  a  good  seat 
without  crowding  anybody  out  of  it,  I  intend  to  go  pretty  constantly 
this  winter.  I  have  two  or  three  invitations  for  seats,  but  they  are 
often  filled.  The  church  is  very  small,  and  generally  full.  I  yester 
day  had  the  high  honor  of  eating  a  state  dinner  with  their  majesties. 
The  President  is  more  despised  by  his  political  opponents,  and  less  re 
spected  by  his  friends,  than  he  ever  has  been  heretofore.  The  mis 
fortune  attending  all  his  measures  tends  to  sink  him  into  contempt. 
I  consider  him  the  immediate  author  of  all  the  misfortune  of  the 
country.  I  wish  to  see  as  little  as  possible  of  him.  Mrs.  Madison, 
it  is  said,  is  about  establishing  her  public  drawing-room.  I  think  I 
shall  trouble  it  very  little  this  season.  Everything  wears  a  sad  as 
pect.  The  desolation  of  last  summer  makes  a  deep  impression.  The 
winter  will  be  duller  than  the  last.  Less  company  to  (99)  amuse,  and 
worse  prospects  to  depress  us.  The  political  horizon  is  so  dark  as 
almost  destroys  hope.  As  yet  little  has  been  done,  but  we  shall  not 
long  remain  inactive.  I  feel  less  pleased  with  my  situation  here  than 
I  have  heretofore.  I  very  often  turn  my  thoughts  home  to  you  and 
our  dear  children.  There  I  see  peace,  quiet,  and  happiness.  I  pray 
God  this  source  of  consolation  may  remain  undisturbed ;  without  it  I 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  97 


should  be  most  wretched.  My  separation  from  you  and  exposure  to 
the  turmoil  and  tumult  of  political  life  has  taught  me  to  appreciate 
more  justly  domestic  enjoyment.  I  believe  I  never  rated  very  highly 
the  pursuits  of  ambition.  Among  those  who  have  run  this  race 
most  successfully,  I  see  few  happy  or  satisfied.  Our  country  affords 
but  slight  inducements  to  engage  in  it.  My  inclination  for  it  is  cer 
tainly  not  increasing.  I  wish  you  to  be  particularly  attentive  to  your 
health,  and  when  you  write  inform  me  precisely  how  it  is.  I  intend 
this  evening  to  write  to  the  children. 

Your  affectionate  husband,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  November  2,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  am  rejoiced  to  know  by  your  letter  of  26th 
October,  that  everything  with  you  is  so  well,  especially  that  the  chil 
dren  conduct  in  all  respects  so  satisfactorily.  One  strong  objection, 
among  many  others,  to  my  being  so  much  absent  from  home,  has 
always  been  depriving  them  of  any  advice  and  assistance.  I  hope 
this  will  prove  no  disadvantage  to  them.  I  have  no  fear  but  you 
will  perform  towards  them  every  duty  in  your  power.  I  think  their 
proper  education  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  my  life.  The  more  I 
see  and  reflect,  the  more  deeply  am  I  impressed  with  the  importance 
of  inculcating  early  in  their  minds  their  moral  and  religious  duties 
and  honorable  sentiments.  I  would  not  wish  their  religion  to  be  of 
a  gloomy  cast,  which  often  tends  to  superstition  and  enthusiasm, 
nor  to  consist  of  unintelligible  dogmas,  which  bewilder  the  mind, 
but  mild  and  rational,  which  may  ameliorate  their  hearts  and  regu- 

(100) 
late  their  conduct.     You  mention  your  surprise  that  Mr.  C.  Cutts 

should  be  chosen  Secretary  of  the  Senate.  Perhaps  your  surprise 
will  be  increased  by  my  telling  you  that  it  was  by  my  vote  and  those 
of  some  of  my  friends  he  was  chosen.  The  fact  was  we  were 
unable  to  elect  the  person  we  wished,  and  if  we  did  not  take  Mr. 
Cutts  we  should  have  had  a  person  we  liked  much  less.  His  brother, 
Edward  Cutts,  has  to-day  been  put  into  the  office  of  Collector  of 
Internal  Taxes.  He  was  approved  in  the  Senate  by  a  majority  of 
one  only.  I  was  among  the  non-contents.  This  news  is  for  your- 


98  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


self.  My  trunk  at  O'Neals'  of  which  you  inquire,  I  found  safe. 
My  lodgings  at  Crawford's  Inn,  in  Georgetown,  are  pretty  good.  I 
have  a  very  excellent  chamber,  consisting  of  two  apartments  (for 
which,  by  the  way,  I  pay  an  extra  price).  There  is  too  much  com 
pany  in  the  house.  The  sort  of  it  which  I  am  with  is  very  good, 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Goldsborough,  Gaston,  Lewis,  of  Virginia, 
Miller,  and  two  or  three  others.  Messrs.  King  and  Gore  and  their 
wives,  who  are  the  best  people  here,  I  see  often  and  with  much  sat 
isfaction.  Madame  Bonaparte  has  disappeared  with  the  French  Em 
peror.  Whether  she  has  retired  to  Elbaa  or  Baltimore,  I  know  not. 
Give  my  respects  to  Mr.  Fales,  and  tell  him  to  get  of  Tappan  and 
Foster  the  reviews  you  mention.  My  love  to  the  children  and 
yourself.  Faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  November  6,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — Day  before  yesterday  two  very  good  letters 
from  George  and  Mary  came  to  hand.  George  says  you  had  received 
,no  letter  from  me  for  six  days,  and  that  you  were  anxious  about  the 
cause.  I  think  there  must  have  been  some  irregularity  in  the  mail, 
for  I  am  confident  I  have  not  omitted  to  write  so  long  a  time.  If, 
however,  by  any  accident  I  should  omit  writing  longer  than  usual, 
you  ought  not  to  impute  it  to  any  serious  cause.  Should  anything 
ill  happen  to  me,  be  assured  I  should  write  immediately.  I  am 

(101) 

sometimes  more  than  ordinarily  occupied  a  few  days.  This,  how 
ever,  never  keeps  you  many  hours  out  of  my  mind,  and  I  will  en 
deavor  it  shall  never  for  many  days  prevent  my  writing  to  you.  I 
wish  you  to  write  as  often  as  your  convenience  will  permit,  and 
have  the  children  write  as  often  as  they  are  willing.  Their  letters 
have  become  amusing  to  me.  I  want  to  hear  from  you  in  some  way 
three  or  four  times  a  week.  A  report  prevails  that  the  British  are 
again  proceeding  up  the  Chesapeake  towards  Baltimore.  I  place 

a  Napoleon  was  banished  to  Elba,  an  island  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  from 
May  4,  1814,  to  February,  1815.  This  island  is  off  the  coast  of  Italy,  5  or  6 
miles  therefrom;  measures  18  miles  by  6  miles,  area,  86  square  miles. 


REV.  JESSE  APPLETON. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  99 


little  reliance  on  the  report,  as  similar  ones  have  often  proved  un 
true.  Should  Baltimore  be  again  attacked,  we  shall  probably  go  to 
Philadelphia.  Were  that  the  only  consequence  I  should  not  regret 
their  visit.  Congress  begins  to  be  seriously  engaged  in  the  business 
of  laying  taxes,  and  providing  for  recruiting  the  army.  The  dom 
inant  party  are  very  fearful  for  their  popularity  on  both  subjects. 
Inform  me  what  is  said  about  the  Convention  at  Hartford. 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  November  12,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — Contrary  to  my  intention,  I  was  the  day  before 
yesterday  involved  in  a  pretty  arduous  debate  on  a  bill  in  relation  to 
the  army,  which  incidentally  involved  the  subject  of  conscription.  I 
got  through  I  believe  tolerably  well,  in  the  opinion  of  my  friends. 
I  am  nonv  pressed  to  write  off  my  speech  for  printing,  with  which  I 
am  rather  inclined  to  think  I  shall  comply.1  I  dislike  the  labor  and 
have  not  vanity  enough  to  believe  it  will  do  me  much  credit.  I  afrn 

(102) 

told,  as  is  usual  in  all  such  cases,  it  will  do  good  to  the  public.  I 
trust  I  have  patriotism  sufficient  to  overcome  :my  indolence.  I  am, 
however,  not  fully  convinced  by  this  argument  addressed  to  my  van 
ity.  It  is  most  probable  I  shall  for  some  reasons,  or  without  any, 
go  on.  If  that  should  happen,  you  will  not  have  the  labor  or  amuse 
ment,  whichever  it  may  be,  of  reading  it  very  soon.  It  will  take  all 
my  leisure  for  several  days  to  do  my  part,  and  several  days  more  to 

1  The  speech  to  which  Mr.  Mason  here  alluded,  was  delivered  in  the  Senate, 
Wednesday,  November  10,  1814,  upon  a  bill  in  several  sections,  to  authorize  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  call  upon  the  several  States  and  territories 
thereof,  for  their  respective  quotas  of  -  -  thousand  militia,  for  the  defense  of 
the  frontiers  of  the  United  States,  and  is  reported  in  the  Annals  of  Congress 
for  the  Third  Session  of  the  Thirteenth  Congress,  p.  77.  It  is  an  able  and 
rather  elaborate  speech,  pointing  out  with  much  force  the  Constitutional  ob 
jections  to  the  measure,  and  its  dangerous  tendencies.  After  much  discussion, 
and  many  amendments  in  both  Houses,  the  bill  was  finally  indefinitely  postponed 
in  the  Senate.  See  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  iii.  (Second 
Series),  p,p.  539-541;  Curtis's  Life  of  Webster,  vol.  i.  p.  139. 
—8 


100  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


do  the  printing.  So  you  need  not  fear  seeing  it  probably  within  ten 
days  or  a  fortnight  after  you  receive  this.  And  you  must  not  be 
disappointed  if  you  do  not  see  it  at  all.  This  story  is  for  yourself 

only 

Sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  November  17,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, —  ....  In  my  last  I  believe  I  told  you  some 
thing  about  a  speech  I  had  made  and  was  requested  to  publish.  I 
have  made  some  progress  in  writing  it  out.  I  am,  however,  not 
entirely  determined  to  publish  it.  If  published  it  will  not  appear 
within  a  week  or  ten  days  from  this  time.  In  consequence  of  cer 
tain  comments  made  on  a  few  observations  I  have  made,  I  was 
obliged  to  make  the  speech.  I  had  a  pretty  large  audience,  consist 
ing  of  many  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  speech  by  my 
friends  was  better  received  than  I  had  expected.  I  have  not  much 
leisure  to  write  it  out,  as  I  must  at  present  attend  in  the  Senate  each 
day.  Give  my  love  to  the  children. 

.  Sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

SENATE  CHAMBER,  November  20,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE,  -  -  The  same  mail  which  will  bring  this,  will  also 
bring  you  the  speech  which  I  have  mentioned.  Being  desirous  of 

(103) 

knowing  the  just  merits  of  this  speech  aforesaid,  and  concluding  you 
must  be  a  perfectly  impartial  judge,  I  wish  for  your  candid  judgment 
on  this  subject.  The  speech,  when  made,  was  pretty  well  received. 
What  its  fate  will  be  with  the  public,  I  know  not,  I  cannot  say,  care 
not.  The  subject  is  important  enough  to  excite  interest.  I  have  no 
doubt  the  subject  of  conscription  will  undergo,  both  here  and  among 
the  people,  ample  discussion.  Mr.  Gore  has  just  delivered  a  very 
eloquent  speech  on  this  subject,  in  a  bill  introduced  since  the  one  I 
attempted  to  discuss.  Mr.  Giles  is  now  answering  it.  The  children, 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  101 


in  their  letters  received  since  yours,  say  noting;  about  ijhQ  lever*.  I 
hope  it  does  not  prevail. 

Sincerely  yours,  etc.,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  THE  REV.  JESSE  APPLETON,  D.  D. 

WASHINGTON,  November  24,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  intended  before  this  time  to  have  answered 
your  letter  of  21st  October,  but  the  truth  is,  that  on  the  subjects 
you  mention,  as  on  most  others  of  a  political  nature,  my  mind  has 
been  in  such  a  state  of  doubt  that  I  have  not  known  what  to  say 
nor  sometimes  what  to  do  on  subjects  where  I  was  obliged  to  act. 

The  government  in  all  its  departments  is  in  great  confusion,  and 
there  are  alarming  indications  of  approaching  dissolution.  The 
immediate  cause  of  the  most  pressing  distress  is  the  deficiency  in 
the  Treasury  and  the  almost  total  loss  of  public  credit.  The  gov 
ernment  are  unable  to  pay  the  most  urgent  demands.  They  can 
borrow  money  on  no  terms  but  such  as  would  ruin  their  credit  irre 
trievably.  The  last  loan  in  September  for  two  and  a  half  millions 
cost  $170  in  stock  for  $100  cash.  The  nominal  terms  were  $100 
stock  and  $80  cash.  But  the  previous  loan  for  near  ten  millions  was 
made  at  $100  for  $88  cash,  with  the  condition  that  if  any  future 
loan  under  same  act  should  be  made  on  terms  more  favorable  to  the 
lenders,  that  loan  should  be  entitled  to  same  terms.  This  last  loan 
consequently  entitled  the  first  lenders  to  the  difference  of  eight  per 

(104) 

cent,  on  ten  millions,  which  brings  the  expense  of  that  loan  to  the 
rate  mentioned.  This  is  sufficient  evidence  of  the  miserable  condition 
of  public  credit. 

It  is  feared  the  proposed  terms  cannot  be  obtained  in  season  to 
bring  relief.  The  project  for  a  bank  of  paper  stock  to  issue  paper 
without  the  means  of  redeeming  it  on  examination,  begins  to  appear 
to  those  who  at  first  were  disposed  to  favor  it  to  be  too  idle  to  ex 
pect  anything  permanently  good  from  it.  Should  it  be  adopted,  of 
which  I  have  great  doubt,  the  relief,  if  any,  would  be  short  lived. 
After  letting  out  a  flood  of  paper  money,  it  would  probably  fail  and 
destroy  all  possibility  of  retrieving  public  credit  for  a  long  time. 

Our  best  people  here  do  not  think  very  favorably  of  the  terms 


102  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


proposed  by  tfce  British  to  our  envoys  at  Ghent.  The  claims  with 
out  modification  were,  I  think,  inadmissible,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  were  urged  extremely  offensive.  The  line  of  the  Grenville 
Treaty  of  which  you  inquire  begins  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga 
River  (entering  into  Lake  Erie),  and  runs  southerly  about  half  way 
to  the  Ohio  and  then  westerly  to  the  west  line  of  the  State  of  Ohio, 
and  then  again  southerly  to  the  Ohio  River,  and  would  take  away 
from  us  about  one  third  of  the  State  of  Ohio  and  all  the  territories 
of  Michigan,  Illinois,  and  Indiana,  and  all  north  of  those  territories. 
You  may  find  the  treaty  in  the  Appendix  to  the  second  volume  of  the 
United  States  Laws.  The  inhabitants  beyond  those  limits  amount 
to  perhaps  fifty  or  sixty  thousand.  The  sine  qua  non  now,  however, 
did  not  fix  on  this  line  but  left  it  for  discussion. 

There  is  considerable  reason  to  believe  the  discussions  between 
the  envoys  did  not  break  off  immediately  after  the  dispatches  were 
sent.  I  think  it  probable  our  envoys  still  remain  at  Ghent.  We 
have  no  knowledge  that  government  has  heard  anything  from  them 
since  the  dispatches  which  were  published.  It  is  probable  that  the 
note  which  they  say  they  were  to  send  to  the  British  envoys  con 
tained  a  long  and  full  statement  of  our  injuries  arid  the  supposed 
impossibility  of  acceding  to  the  terms  proposed,  and  that  this  was 
sent  to  the  British  Government,  and  that  the  envoys  waited  for  an 
14  (105) 

answer.  It  is  possible  the  answer  may  have  been  such  as  to  justify 
the  continuing  the  negotiation,  and  that  peace  may  be  the  result. 
This,  however,  I  do  not  think  probable. 

If  the  war  goes  on  the  States  will  be  left  in  a  great  degree  to  take 
care  of  themselves.  What  this  will  end  in  it  is  impossible  to  fore 
see.  This  is  the  cause  from  which,  in  my  opinion,  a  dissolution  of 
the  Union  is  to  be  apprehended.  If  the  people  discover  the  General 
Government  is  unable  or  unwilling  to  defend  them,  they  will  soon 
withdraw  all  support  from  it,  and  look  for  relief  to  their  State  gov 
ernments.  If  compelled  to  tax  theimselves  to  support  their  militia 
and  State  troops,  they  will  not  at  the  same  time  pay  heavy  taxes  to  the 
United  States. 

I  have  no  satisfactory  information  of  the  views  and  intentions  of 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  103 


the  individuals  who  are  to  compose  the  Hartford  Convention.*  I  do 
not  expect  much  from  it  at  present,  whatever  may  be  the  wishes  or 
intentions  of  those  gentlemen.  I  expect  it  will  end  in  a  strong  dec 
laration  of  injuries  and  a  recommendation  of  moderate  measures, 
unless  certain  army  bills  now  before  Congress  should  create  great 
excitement  in  New  England. 

Some  of  these  bills  adopt,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  principle 
of  Colonel  Monroe's  report,  recommending  a  conscription  for  the 
army.  It  is  said  the  Southern  States,  especially  Virginia,  will  bear 
them  quietly.  I  think  New  England  will  not.  It  is  not  yet  certain 
any  of  these  bills  will  pass.  The  Senate  have  passed  two  and  sent 
them  to  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  first  which  authorizes 
enlisting  minors,  I  suppose  will  be  borne  with  a  good  deal  of  grum 
bling.  The  other,  which  directs  the  classing  of  the  militia  for  the 
purpose  of  making  forcible  drafts  of  men  to  serve  for  two  years,  I 
think  will  not  be  borne  in  New  England  at  all.  No  forcible  resist 
ance,  however,  will  be  necessary  to  defeat  it.  Without  the  aid  of 
the  State  governments  it  cannot  be  executed.  The  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  have  before  them  a  bill  of  much  more  obnoxious  char 
acter. 

On  the  introduction  into  the  Senate  of  the  first  of  these  bills, 

(106) 

without  intending  it  at  the  time,  I  was  reduced  to  the  necessity  of 
entering  into  an  examination  of  the  Secretary's  doctrine,  which  does 
not  apply  so  much  to  that  bill  as  to  the  others.  On  the  report's  being 
mentioned  with  approbation  I  condemned  it  in  pretty  strong  terms. 
This  produced  the  next  day  a  formal  argument  in  defense  of  it  which 
obliged  me  to  reply  somewhat  at  large.  I  sent  you  by  the  last  mail 
in  a  newspaper  the  substance  of  my  argument.  Like  an  occasional 

a  The  Hartford  Convention  was  a  secret  political  convention  that  met  at 
Hartford,  Conn.,  from  December  15,  1814,  to  January  5,  1815,  at  the  suggestion 
of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature.  It  was  composed  of  26  Federal  delegates 
from  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  and  two  counties  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  and  one  from  Vermont.  The  object  of  the  convention  was  to  devise  means 
of  security  and  defense,  and  safeguarding  the  rights  of  the  individual  states. 
It  was  in  opposition  to  Madison's  administration,  but  as  peace  was  declared 
before  the  convention  adjourned,  the  amendments  recomimended  by  the  conven 
tion  to  the  National  Constitution  were  abandoned,  but  it  did  much  to  hasten  the 
downfall  of  the  Federalist  Party. 


104  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


sermon  it  was  published  at  the  request  of  some  of  the  hearers,  and  as 
I  have  heard  you  say,  in  your  course  with  them,  you  are  not  obliged 
to  read  it  because  it  has  been  sent  to  you. 

Yesterday  Gerry  died  very  suddenly.  He  had  travelled  from  Bos 
ton  to  this  place  in  five  days,  which  was  enough  to  kill  a  younger 
and  stouter  man.  During  this  session  he  had  conducted  in  his  place 
in  the  Senate  much  better  than  usual.  I  had  last  winter  a  little  mis 
understanding  with  him,  which  by  taking  some  trifling  pains  I  had 
just  got  settled  and  I  hope  forgotten  before  he  died.  His  funeral  has 
been  attended  with  all  due  ceremony  to-day.  The  President  is  often 
subject  to  bad  health,  and  is  now  sick  though  not  dangerously.  This 
gives  considerable  importance  to  this  election. 

The  Federalists  and  a  few  others  will  vote  for  Mr.  King.1  Two 
on  our  side,  one  from  Delaware  and  one  from  North  Carolina,  are 
absent ;  were  they  present  I  think  we  might  probably  elect  him.  As 
it  is,  I  do  not  expect  it.  To-day  the  administration  party  think  of 
choosing  Mr.  Taylor,  of  South  Carolina.  They  are  not,  however,  very 
well  agreed.  Their  chief  reason  for  setting  him  up  is  to  prevent  his 
voting  for  Mr.  King,  which  it  is  said  he  was  inclined  to  do.  I  think 
it  probable  enough  they  will  change  to  another.  Please  to  present 
my  affectionate  respects  to  Mrs.  Appleton. 

I  am,  sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

(107) 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  December  4,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — I  live  a  hermit's  life  here,  though  not 

strictly  confined  to  a  hermit's  fare.  I  am  in  company  very  little.  I 
have  few  invitations,  and  those  I  mostly  decline.  The  truth  is,  the 
inhabitants  here,  with  few  exceptions,  are  good  for  nothing.  I  am 
much  more  engaged  in  business  than  I  was  last  winter.  The  Con 
gress  library  having  been  burnt,  I  have  not  access  to  any  good  li 
brary  of  books.  I  read,  however,  considerably.  I  am  in  my  cham 
ber  alone  a  great  portion  of  the  time,  when  out  of  the  Senate,  and 

1  For  the  place  of  President  of  the  Senate  vacated  by  the  death  of  Vice 
President  Gerry. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  105 


often  feel  solitary.  I  take  less  interest  in  the  people  here  than  I 
did  last  winter.  I  suppose  the  chief  reason  is  that  all  the  novelty  is 
gone.  I  wish  in  my  soul  I  could  leave  them  and  come  home.  I 
very  often,  when  thinking  of  you  and  the  children,  doubt  the  sound 
ness  of  the  reasons  which  induced  me  to  come  here.  I  do  not  think 
I  shall  do  either  myself  or  the  public  much  good  by  coming  here.  I 
aim  certain  I  should  be  much  happier  at  home.  I  do  not  know  that 
my  ambitious  feelings,  of  which  I  suppose  I  have  a  portion  in  com 
mon  with  other  folks,  have  been  disappointed.  But  I  do  not  think 
the  gratification  of  them  by  any  means  sufficient  to  compensate  for 
the  loss  of  domestic  enjoyment.  Be  sure,  my  dear  Mary,  that  is  the 
great  source  of  all  enjoyment  in  this  world.  There  everything  inter 
ests,  in  other  situations  too  often  nothing.  I  here  enjoy  the  society 
of  some  of  the  best,  and  I  think  greatest,  men  of  the  nation,  who 
seem  to  be  disposed  to  treat  me  with  kindness.  This  is  the  chief 
consolation  and  pleasure  of  my  situation.  I  have  written  to  your 
father  and  little  Jane.  There  is  a  Mr.  Comstock,  from  the  State  of 
New  York,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  who  introduced  him 
self  to  me  and  told  me  he  was  a  cousin  of  yours.  He  is  a  sad  Dem 
ocrat,  otherwise  a  pretty  decent  man.  Do  you  know  anything  about 
him?  Affectionately  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

(108) 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  December  11,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — The  last  letter  I  have  of  yours  is  of  the  30th 
November,  containing  your  very  concise  criticism  on  my  speech.  As 
it  is  as  favorable  to  the  author  as  it  is  concise,  I  shall  find  no  fault 
with  it.  The  subect  is,  in  my  opinion,  of  great  importance.  As  it 
pleases  you,  and  I  hope  will  not  displease  the  few  of  my  friends  who 
will  read  it,  I  may  expect  to  escape  without  much  cause  of  repent 
ance.  The  debates  are  still  continued  on  the  same  subject  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  with  vehement  animation.  Webster,  a  few 
days  ago,  made  a  very  splendid  speech  on  the  subject,  which  will  be 
published.  I  expect  the  principle  will  be  adopted,  in  a  small  deeree, 
in  the  House  of  Representatives.  We  have  had  an  interesting  dis- 


106  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


cussion  on  a  bill  to  establish  a  national  bank,  in  which  I  took  a  part. 
Being  of  the  committee  which  originated  the  bill,  and  being  opposed 
to  it,  I  could  not  well  avoid  taking  a  share  in  the  debate,  had  I  been 
so  inclined.  Indeed,  I  felt  no  inclination  to  avoid  it.  If  I  ever  get 
time  to  write  it,  and  the  newspapers  should  not  be  too  full  of  Congress 
speeches,  I  may  possibly  publish  it.  On  that  occasion,  Mr.  King  (of 
the  Senate)  spoke  in  his  best  manner  and  greatest  power.  He  is 
the  most  eloquent  man  I  ever  heard.a  I  feel  considerably  anxious  about 
your  health.  I  wish  you  to  write  me  exactly  how  you  are.  If  neces 
sary,  I  will  make  arrangements  to  come  home  the  latter  part  of  the 
winter.  Tell  me  what  you  wish  on  that  subject  without  any  reserve. 
Should  the  situation  of  things  here  be  such  as  to  make  my  tarrying  of 
much  importance,  I  shall  not  come,  unless  your  health  is  poorer  than 
usual,  under  similar  circumstances,  if  you  do  not  especially  wish  it. 
Write  me  frankly  your  wishes  on  this  subject.  I  can  come  if  neces 
sary,  and  if  you  think  it  necessary,  I  will  come.  There  is  no  use  in 
telling  how  much  I  should  prefer  coming  home  to  staying  here.  My  in 
clinations  alone  must  not  govern.  When  will  your  mother  come  to 
tarry  with  you?  I  received  Mary's  letter  of  the  3d  December.  By 
her  account  (109)  you  had  rather  a  solitary  Thanksgiving.  I  think  you 
had  best  not  live  too  solitary.  I  fear  you  will  permit  your  spirits  to 

a  That  Mr.  Mason  put  Rufus  King  at  the  head  of  all  orators  he  had  ever 
heard,  is  high  praise,  as  Mr.  Mason  was  a  man  of  wide  experience,  and  had 
heard  the  best  speakers  in  the  land. 

"To  Mr.  King,  it  was  assigned  to  answer  Mr.  Burr  (Aaron  Burr),  if  he 
should  take  part  in  the  debate.  Otherwise,  he  was  not  to  speak.  Mr.  Burr 
did  not  rise  to  address  the  chair  until  the  president  had  proceeded  half  way 
in  putting  the  question;  and  then  commenced  and  went  through  a  discourse  of 
considerable  ingenuity.  When  he  had  finished,  Mr.  King  immediately  replied; 
and  is  said  to  have  displayed  his  talents  as  an  orator  more  powerfully  than  on 
any  occasion  during  his  whole  life.  An  able  judge  of  eloquence,  and  one  of  the 
first  men  of  our  country,  represents  the  exhibition  as  transcending  anything 
that  modern,  if  not  ancient  times,  ever  produced.  He  says  the  orator  worked 
himself  up  into  such  a  frenzy,  that  he  leapt  from  the  floor  and  that  extravagant 
as  this  action  may  now  appear,  it  was  no  more  than  'the  action  suited  to  the 
word.'  *  *  *  Of  late  years  it  has  been  observed,  that  Mr.  King  has,  with  the 
animation  of  his  manner  given  place  to  a  more  calm  and  dignified  modera 
tion." — William  Coleman — Sketch  of  Rufus  King,  Delaplaines  Repository,  vol.  i 
p.  184;  cited  in'l  Rufus  King's  Life  and  Correspondence,  532. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  107 


become  depressed;  nothing  can  be  worse  for  your  health.  I  think 
there  is  more  danger  from  depression  of  spirits  than  is  generally  sup 
posed.  A  cheerful  mind  is  a  great  protection  for  health  of  body.  I 
am  also  of  opinion  that  our  feelings  may,  by  proper  pains  and  manage 
ment,  be  kept,  in  a  great  degree,  under  our  own  control.  I  think  I 
have  that  control  over  my  feelings,  to  a  considerable  degree,  and  I  am 

certain  they  are  not  of  the  most  manageable  sort 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  December  18,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — I  have  received  your  letter  of  9th  December, 
for  which  I  thank  you.  You  need  not  fear  that  the  length  of  your 
letters  will  tire  me.  If  my  letters,  often  filled  with  matters  in  which 
you  take  little  interest,  are  still  gratifying  to  you,  what  must  yours 
be  to  me,  which  are  always  on  subjects  of  the  deepest  interest.  You 
cannot  well  conceive  the  degree  of  interest  I  take  in  everything  hap 
pening  at  home.  The  stories  told  in  the  letters  of  the  children  not 
only  amuse  but  interest  me.  I  become  more  dissatisfied  with  my 
situation  here.  It  is  much  more  disagreeable  than  it  was  the  last 
winter.  The  society  and  amusements  are,  perhaps,  nearly  the  same, 
but  I  have  less  to  do  with  them.  I  am  more  disgusted  with  them 
than  I  then  was.  Except  a  few  belonging  to  Congress,  I  neither 

see  nor  want  to  see  anybody The  prospect  of  public  affairs 

is  most  unpromising,  and  I  see  little  probability  of  its  altering  for 
the  better.  This  necessarily  embitters  all  my  reflections,  and  de 
stroys  most  of  the  pleasures  I  might  otherwise  enjoy.  I  most 
sincerely  wish  I  was  fairly  rid  of  my  present  situation  and  restored 
to  quiet  and  domestic  enjoyments.  I  know  not  why  I  have  given 
you  the  above  sad  story,  which  can  do  you  no  good.  But  remem 
ber,  it  is  only  for  yourself.  You  inquire  concerning  Mrs.  Lear, 

(110) 

whom  I  have  not  seen  since  I  came  here.  Colonel  Lear,  about  three 
weeks  ago,  called  on  me.  Two  or  three  days  ago  I  went  to  return 
the  aforesaid  visit  in  due  form,  and  finding  both  the  Colonel  and  his 
lady  absent,  paid  it  in  pasteboard,  which  will  probably  be  the  amount 
of  our  intercourse  this  season.  Should  I  by  chance  see  Mrs.  Lear, 


108  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


of  whom  I  think  very  favorably,  I  will  certainly  remember  your  mes 
sage  to  her.  If  I  have  time  I  shall  write  to  the  children,  if  not,  give 
my  love  to  them. 

Sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

p.  g. — Tell  Mary  I  will  write  to  her  soon.  Kiss  little  Robert 
and  James  for  me. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MISS  MARY  E.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  December  20,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  received  your  letter  dated  llth  of  Decem 
ber,  yesterday.  I  am  pleased  with  your  account  of  the  manner 
which  you  and  the  other  children  employ  your  Sundays.  By  a 
proper  employment  of  it  no  day  of  the  week  can  be  so  pleasant  or 
so  useful.  The  duties  of  religion  should  never  be  forgotten.  The 
observance  of  them  is  as  necessary  to  secure  happiness  in  this 
world  as  in  the  next.  True  piety  tempers  and  regulates  all  the 
minor  virtues.  It  is  the  best  security  against  violence  of  passion 
and  irregularity  of  conduct.  It  softens  the  heart  and  regulates  the 
affections.  A  man  without  religion  is  never  to  be  much  relied  on. 
But  an  impious  woman  is  a  dangerous  monster  always  to  be  shunned 
and  avoided.  Infidelity  and  irreligion  are  absolutely  inconsistent 
with  the  delicacy  of  the  female  character.  If  then,  my  dear  daughter, 
you  wish  to  be  respected  and  esteemed  in  this  world,  or  happy  in  a  fu 
ture,  cultivate  sentiments  of  piety  and  religion.  Let  such  sentiments 
become  habitual,  and  they  will  be  your  best  protection  against  misfor 
tune  and  greatest  security  for  happiness. 

Your  affectionate  father,  J.  MASON. 

(in) 
JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  December  22,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — When  I  last  wrote  you,  I  happened  to  be  in  a 
train  of  sombre  reflections,  some  of  which,  after  I  had  sent  the 
letter,  I  recollected  I  had  imparted  to  you,  and  was  sorry  for  it. 
I  do  not  permit  myself  often  to  indulge  such  reflections,  and  less 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  109 


often  impart  them  to  others,  as  it  can  do  no  good.  My  health  is 
entirely  good,  and  my  spirits  tolerable.  The  public  concerns  are, 
to  be  sure,  very  gloomy,  but  I  do  not  suppose  my  being  sad  would 
mend  them.  I  do  not  intend  to  place  on  my  shoulders  unneces 
sarily  any  part  of  the  national  misfortunes.  My  own  share  I  will 
bear  as  I  can,  and  do  what  I  can  to  lessen  the  whole. 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  December  27,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — I  have  received  today  your  letter  of  the  21st, 
in  which  you  say  you  had  received  no  letter  from  me  later  than  the 
6th  of  December.  There  must  have  been  great  delay  or  irregular 
ity  in  the  mail,  for  I  have  never,  I  think,  omitted  writing  more  than 
three  or  four  days.  You  mentioned  the  children  have  colds.  I  hope 
it  is  nothing  more  than  common  colds,  which  will  pass  off.  I  enjoy 
my  health  better  than  usual.  I  have  felt  nothing  of  the  rheumatism, 
nor  any  other  complaint,  but  the  influenza,  which  was  not  severe, 
and  lasted  but  a  few  days.  My  employment,  though  not  very  pleas 
ant,  is  quite  regular.  I  am,  of  course,  constantly,  or  nearly  so,  in 
the  Senate  during  its  sessions,  which  are  from  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
morning  to  three  or  four  in  the  afternoon,  and  sometimes  later,  un 
less  when  want  of  business  permits  an  earlier  adjournment,  which 
is  not  often.  We  dine  by  candle-light  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
time.  The  evenings  and  mornings  I  generally  spend  in  my  own 

(112) 

chamber.  I  have  not  dined  out  of  my  own  lodgings  more  than 
three  or  four  times,  so  that  I  am  in  no  danger  of  injuring  my  health 
from  that  kind  of  dissipation.  I  am,  however,  in  no  want  of  com 
pany.  The  mess  (as  it  is  here  called)  with  which  I  dine,  consists  of 
eight  or  ten  gentlemen,  mostly  well  informed,  pleasant,  and  agree 
able.  The  manner  and  style  of  boarding-house  living,  I  do  not 
much  like.  If  I  can  I  shall  come  home  before  the  end  of  the  session. 
Should  it  be  necessary  on  account  of  your  health,  I  will  come  at  all 
events.  I  wish  you  therefore  (as  I  have  heretofore),  to  write  me 
how  you  are,  and  what  your  wishes  are  on  this  particular.  The 


110  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


belief  that  an  attack  has  been  made  on  New  Orleans,  creates  much 

apprehension 

Faithfully  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January   1,   1815. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  wish  you  a  happy  New  Year.  May  this  and 
many  succeeding  years  witness  our  prosperity  and  happiness.  I 
have  purchased  some  small  books  for  New  Year's  presents  to  the 
children,  some  in  French  for  George  and  Mary,  which  I  hope  will 
be  useful  to  them.  They  are  too  large  for  my  frank,  and  I  do  not 
know  how  I  shall  send  them  without  too  much  expense.  I  shall 
also  send  one  to  Jane.  I  am  glad  our  Amherst  friends  are  with  you. 
I  know  you  will  highly  enjoy  their  visit.  Should  any  of  them  be  with 
you  when  you  receive  this,  give  my  best  respects  to  them.  The 
weather  here  is  remarkably  fine,  and  has  been  so  for  some  time.  To 
day  is  like  our  weather  in  the  latter  part  of  October.  I  shall  go  to 
church  in  the  afternoon.  As  you  took  so  much  interest  in  the  sub 
ject  of  conscription,  I  suppose  it  must  give  you  consolation  to  know 
that  Mr.  Giles'  principal  bill  to  enforce  it,  has  finally  failed  in.  the 
Senate.  I  do  not  think  it  will  be  again  revived  this  session.  The 
Mammoth  Bank  is  the  subject  of  chief  interest  here  now.  It  has 
been  for  a  long  time,  and  is  still  held  under  (113)  debate  in  the  House 

15 
of  Representatives.     There  is  a  probability  it  will  undergo  general 

changes.     If  I  do  not  write  to  the  children,  give  my  love  to  them. 

Sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  15,  1815. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — .  ...  I  want  much  to  set  out  for  home  the 
fore  part  of  the  next  month.  Affairs  here  are  however  in  such  a 
condition,  that  I  cannot  determine  on  it  at  this  time.  Appearances 
at  present  indicate  that  the  remainder  of  the  session  will  be  very 
busy  and  important.  If  you  are  very  desirous  on  account  of  your 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  Ill 


own  situation,  that  I  should  come  home,  I  wish  you  (as  I  have  be 
fore  written  you)  freely  to  express  your  wishes.  I  do  not  think  I 
ought  to  sacrifice  my  own  happiness  and  also  that  of  those  most  dear 
to  me,  to  an  idea  of  public  duty.  I  do  not  expect  my  presence  here 
will  be  of  much  importance.  Yet  I  do  not  incline  to  be  absent,  with 
out  a  pretty  satisfactory  excuse,  as  possibly  an  occasion  might  occur 
where  my  vote  would  be  material.  When  will  your  mother  come  to 
tarry  with  you?  Do  not  have  her  delay  coming  for  want  of  a  con 
venient  opportunity,  but  send  for  her  when  she  will  be  ready  to  come. 
If  not  convenient  for  Mr.  Fales  to  go,  send  our  horse  and  sleigh,  or 
one  from  the  livery  stable,  with  a  good  coachman.  Mr.  A.  Ladd 
called  on  me  this  morning,  and  for  an  hour  or  two  answered  all  my 
numerous  inquiries  about  Portsmouth.  I  did  not  get  much  news 
from  him  however.  Except  the  business  of  privateering,  the  people 
there  are  doing  little,  by  his  account,  and  I  suppose  thinking  less. 
The  Bank  Bill,  which  has  so  long  been  a  standing  dish  here,  has 
again  got  into  the  Senate  for  discussion,  on  the  amendments  proposed 
by  the  House  of  Representatives.  I  hope  we  shall  in  a  few  days  be 
rid  of  it  in  some  way,  for  I  am  heartily  tired  of  it.;  I  expect  it  will 
finally  pass  pretty  much  as  amended  by  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  which  will  still  leave  it  (114)  bad  enough.  No  further  news  is 
heard  from  New  Orleans.  I  intend  to  write  to  some  of  the  children. 
To  the  others  give  my  love. 

Most  sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

P.  S. — I  send  you  a  speech  of  Mr.  Gore.  It  is  very  incorrectly 
printed.  -^7?! 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  29,  1815. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — Your  letter  of  the  22d  instant  gives  me  much 
satisfaction.  I  know  you  have  exerted  much  resolution  in  recon 
ciling  yourself  to  the  idea  of  my  being  absent  till  after  the  end  of 
the  session.  I  duly  appreciate  your  conduct  in  this  particular.  My 
being  at  home  on  the  occasion  alluded  to  might  be  of  no  great  im 
portance,  except  the  satisfaction  I  know  it  would  afford  me.  I  ex 
pect  to  have  been  able  by  this  time  to  say  with  certainty  whether 


112  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


I  could  come  or  not.  I  cannot,  however,  at  present  well  make  the 
determination.  I  have  some  faint  hopes  of  being  able  to  set  out 
before  the  end  of  the  session,  without  material  inconvenience.  As  I 
have  before  told  you,  this  still  remains  uncertain.  The  question  of 
the  Bank  is  expected  to  be  brought  forward  again  in  a  new  shape, 
and  some  other  matters  of  .equal  importance.  Mr.  Webstera  now 
intends  to  set  out  in  about  a  week.  The  House  of  Representatives  is 
so  numerous,  he  says  he  can  go  and  not  be  missed.  He  wants  to 
attend  the  Superior  Court.  I  doubt  whether  he  will  go  at  that  time. 
If  he  should  I  should  be  most  unwilling  to  tarry  behind,  but  fear  I 
shall  be  obliged  to.  Depend  upon  it  I  will  come  if  I  think  it  justi 
fiable.  My  inclinations  lead  me  so  strongly  to  that  course,  that  I 
almost  fear  to  trust  my  own  judgment  to  determine.  I  know  if  I 
apply  to  others  they  will  advise  me  to  stay.  I  am  entirely  well,  and 
you  need  fear  nothing  on  account  of  the  newspaper  reports  of  the 
sickness  in  Virginia.  As  usual,  the  statement  has  been  exaggerated. 
The  sickness  of  Alexandria  has  abated.  I  doubt  whether  any  cases  of 
that  disorder  have  ever  been  nearer  (115)  this  place.  I  had  accepted 
an  invitation  to  dine  today  at  Alexandria  with  a  Mr.  Swan.  I  did  not 
go,  but  not  through  any  apprehension  of  the  sickness  there.  The  day 
has  been  extremely  cold,  and  I  thought  a  ride  home  this  evening  would 
be  too  dear  a  price  for  a  dinner.  The  weather  for  several  days  has 
been  colder  than  is  often  experienced  here.  It  equals  our  cold  winter 
weather.  The  Potomac  is  frozen  so  that  it  is  passed  on  the  ice. 
News  has  arrived  this  evening,  that  the  British  have  been  partially 

a  Daniel  Webster  (1782-1852).  Says  Dr.  John  Lord,  vol.  iv.  Beacon  Lights 
of  History,  pp.  449-50: — "In  his  legal  career,  when  for  nearly  forty  years  he 
discussed  almost  every  issue  that  can  arise  between  individuals  and  communi 
ties,  some  half  a  dozen  have  become  historical,  because  of  the  importance  of 
the  principles  and  interests  involved.  In  the  Gibbons  and  Ogden  case  he  as 
sumed  the  broad  ground  that  the  grant  of  power  to  regulate  commerce  was  ex 
clusively  the  right  of  the  general  Government.  William  Wirt,  his  distinguished 
antagonist,  then  in  the  height  of  his  fame,  relied  on  the  coasting  license  given 
by  the  states;  but  the  lucid  and  luminous  arguments  of  the  young  lawyer  (then 
42)  astonished  the  Court,  and  made  old  Judge  Marshall  (then  69)  lay  down 
his  pen,  drop  back  in  his  chair,  turn  his  coat  "'j-Ts,  and  stare  at  the  speaker  in 
amazement  at  his  powers.  The  first  great  cast  which  gave  Webster  reputation 
was  that  pertaining  to  Dartmouth  College,  his  alma  mater,  which  he  loved  as 
Newton  loved  Cambridge.  The  College  was  in  the  hands  of  politicians,  and 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  113 


defeated  at  New  Orleans.  Strong  hopes  are  entertained  for  the 
safety  of  that  place.  I  think,  however,  the  result  is  still  very  doubt 
ful 

I  am  most  affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  5,  1815. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — By  the  last  mail  I  received  your  letter  of  29th 
January,  and  am  gratified  with  knowing  you  are  well,  and  that  you 
expect  your  mother  soon  to  be  with  you.  You  can  scarcely  con 
ceive  my  ardent  desire  to  leave  this  disgusting  place  and  return  to 
you.  I  have  for  a  considerable  time  entertained  a  secret  hope  that 
about  this  time  I  should  be  able  to  set  out  for  home.  I  think  it 
probable  that  Mr.  Webster  will  set  out  in  the  course  of  this  week, 
but  I  despair  of  being  able  to  accompany  him.  Another  vexatious 
Bank  Bill  will  be  introduced  into  the  Senate  tomorrow,  which  will 
be  debated  for  a  considerable  time.  I  expect  it  will  pass  in  the 
end,  but  the  votes  on  that  subject  in  the  Senate  have  on  several 
occasions  been  so  equally  balanced,  that  I  dare  not  absent  myself 
till  it  is  over.  And  even  then  several  subjects  are  expected  which 
are  deemed  of  much  importance.  Those  in  whom  I  place  most 
confidence,  to  whom  I  have  spoken  of  my  intention  of  going  away 
before  the  end  of  the  session,  decidedly  dissuade  me  from  it.  This 
I  expected,  and  of  course  shall  not  be  greatly  influenced  by  it.  But 
I  really  fear  that  I  shall  be  obliged  to  tarry.  I  have  no  doubt,  you 
have  entertained  expectations  of  my  return,  though  I  have  given 

(116) 

Webster  recovered  the  College  from  their  hands  and  restored  it  to  the  trustees, 
laying  down  such  broad  principles  that  every  literary  and  benevolent  institution 
in  this  land  will  be  grateful  to  him  forever.  This  case,  which  was  argued  when 
he  was  36,  with  consummate  ability,  and  with  words  as  eloquent  as  they  were 
logical  and  lucid,  melting  a  cold  court  into  tears,  placed  Webster  in  the  front 
rank  of  lawyers,  which  he  kept  until  he  died.  In  the  Ogden  and  Saunders  case 
he  settled  the  constitutionality  of  State  bankrupt  laws;  in  that  of  the  U.  S.  Bank 
he  maintained  the  right  of  the  citizen  of.  one  State  to  perform  any  legal  act  in 
another;  in  that  which  related  to  the  efficiency  of  Stephen  Girard's  will,  he 
demonstrated  the  vital  importance  of  Christianity  to  the  success  of  free  insti 
tutions, — so  that  this  very  college,  which  excluded  clergymen  from  being  teachers 


114  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


you  little  encouragement.  I  feel  a  strong  inclination  to  be  with 
you  on  my  own  account,  and  a  still  stronger  on  yours.  If  I  could 
have  set  out  at  this  time.  I  intended  to  have  seen  my  friends  in 
Connecticut  on  my  way.  But  if  I  am  delayed  till  the  end  of  the 
session,  as  I  expect  to  be,  I  shall  come  directly  home.  I  fear  you 
will  think  I  do  wrong,  notwithstanding  what  you  have  written,  if  I 
omit  coming  home  till  the  session  ends.  To  the  protection  of  a 
kind  Providence  I  commit  you,  with  earnest  prayers  for  your  safety. 
The  fever  at  Alexandria  has  subsided.  This  place  is  as  healthy  as 
usual.  I  am  entirely  well,  which  you  may  always  know  unless  I 
mention  the  contrary. 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MISS  MARY  E.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  5,  1815. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  believe  I  owe  you  two  or  three  letters.  I 
have  been  much  engaged  for  some  time,  which  must  be  my  apology. 
I  look  forward  with  great  pleasure  to  the  time  I  shall  come  home 
and  see  you  all.  In  the  midst  of  company  I  often  feel  solitary  be 
cause  I  am  so  far  from  those  I  best  love.  I  hope  it  is  wholly  unneces 
sary  for  me  to  request  you  to  be  particularly  attentive  to  all  the 
wishes  of  your  dear  mother.  Your  own  feelings  will  prompt  you  to 
pay  her  every  dutiful  attention  in  your  power.  A  good  and  affec 
tionate  child  will  always  find  in  the  mere  performance  of  these  du 
ties  a  sufficient  reward.  What  can  afford  you  more  satisfaction 
than  to  know  that  you  contribute  to  the  happiness  of  a  mother  who 
is  entitled  to  and  enjoys  your  warmest  affections. 

in  it,  or  even  visiting  it,  has  since  been  presided  over  by  laymen  of  high  religious 
character,  like  Judge  Jones  and  Doctor  Allen.  In  the  Rhode  Island  case,  he 
proved  the  right  of  the  State  to  modify  its  own  institutions  of  government.  In 
the  Knapp  murder  case,  he  brought  out  the  power  of  conscience, — the  voice  of 
God  to  the  soul — with  such  terrible  forensic  eloquence  that  he  was  the  admiration 
of  all  Christian  people.  No  better  sermon  was  ever  preached  than  this  appeal  to 
the  conscience  of  men." 

Says  Jeremiah  Smith  (Morrison's  Life  of  Smith,  40)  :  "In  single  qualities 
I  have  known  men  superior  to  Mr.  Webster;  Hamilton  had  more  original  genius; 
Ames,  greater  quickness  of  imagination;  Marshall,  Parsons,  and  Dexter  were  as 


JOHN    MARSHALL. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  115 


I  am  pleased  by  learning  you  get  on  so  well  in  your  studies.  I 
fear  however  you  are  too  soon  through  your  geography.  It  is  a 
very  useful  study.  When  I  come  home  I  shall  examine  you  and 
see  whether  you  know  everything  about  all  the  countries  in  the 
world.  I  expect  you  will  have  to  resume  that  study  again. 

Your  affectionate  father,  J.  MASON. 

(117) 
JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  11,  1815. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — News  has  this  moment  arrived,  that  the  en 
emy,  soon  after  their  late  defeat  at  New  Orleans,  re-embarked  and 
have  left  that  part  of  the  country.  Their  loss  is  said  to  be  between 
three  and  four  thousand  men,  including  Generals  Packenham,  Gibbs, 
and  Kean,  Badly  wounded.  Our  loss  only  one  hundred  and.  thirty-six. 
This  important  event  has  caused  great  exultation  here,  as  it  will 
through  the  United  States. 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  14,  1815. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — .  .  .  .  We  have  just  received  the  news  of  a 
treaty  of  peace  from  an  arrival  at  New  York.  You  will  have  heard 
of  it  before  you  receive  this.  No  official  information  is  yet  received, 
but  there  is  supposed  to  exist  no  doubt  of  the  fact.  Everybody 
here  is  extremely  elated  with  joy.  If  the  terms  of  the  treaty  are 
tolerable,  it  is  a  most  fortunate  event  for  the  country.  We  expect 
to  receive  it  tomorrow.  If  it  is  ratified,  it  will  give  a  new  turn  to 
all  our  business  here.  It  will,  however,  rather  increase  than  lessen 

remarkable  for  logical  strength;  but  in  the  union  of  high  intellectual  qualities, 
I  have  known  no  man  whom  I  think  his  equal." 

Rufus  Choate,  before  the  Suffolk  Bar,  in  Boston,  October  28,  1852,  at  the 
Memorial  Proceedings,  added:  "Who  anywhere,  has  won,  as  he  had,  the  double 
fame,  and  worn  the  double  wreath  of  Murray  and  Chatham,  of  Dunning  and  Fox, 
of  Erskine,  and  Pitt,  of  William  Pinkney  and  Rufus  King,  in  one  blended 
transcendent  superiority?" 

q 


116  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


the  quantity  for  the  small  remainder  of  this  session.  The  business, 
however,  can  in  no  change,  be  of  so  unpleasant  a  nature  as  it  has 
been.  The  Bank  Bill  is  postponed  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  to  await  the  event  of  the  truth  of  this  report.  I  expect  Mr. 
Webster  will  set  out  for  home  in  two  or  three  days.  I  cannot 
express  how  ardently  I  wish  to  accompany  him,  but  it  cannot  be. 
Give  my  love  to  the  children.  With  earnest  prayers  for  your  safety, 

I  am  Affectionately  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

(118) 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  11,  1815. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — I  have  your  letter  mentioning  that  your  mother 
had  arrived,  and  would  remain  with  you.  This  gives  me  much  satis 
faction.  Mr.  Webster  left  this  place  yesterday.  It  was  not  possible 
for  me  to  accompany  him.  The  sudden  arrival  of  the  Treaty  of 
Peace  has  changed  everything.  The  public  business,  though  differ 
ent,  is  not  perhaps  less  urgent  or  important  than  if  war  had  con 
tinued.  The  Treaty  of  Peace  will  be  published  in  a  day  or  two.  I 
entertain  some  hopes  of  being  able  to  set  out  for  home  one  week 
from  this  time.  This  however  is  uncertain.  At  all  events  I  shall 
set  out  in  a  fortnight,  which  will  be  the  end  of  the  session.  Con 
tinue  to  direct  to  me  here  till  the  28th  instant.  I  will  write  to  you 
where  to  direct  to  me  on  my  way  home.  Give  my  respects  to  your 
mother  and  to  Mr.  Fales,  and  love  to  the  children. 

Affectionately  yours.  J.  MASON. 

(119) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  117 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Letter  from  Mr.  Gore. — Letter  from  Mr.  King. — Mr.  Mason's  Congressional 
Life  till  the  Close  of  the  Fourteenth  Congress. — Domestic  Correspondence. 
—  Correspondence  with  Dr.  Appleton,  Mr.  King  and  Mr.  Gore.  —  Mr.  Mason 
declines  the  Office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Superior  Court  of  New  Hamp 
shire. 

WHILE  at  home,  after  the  close  of  the  Thirteeenth  Congress, 
Mr.  Mason  received  a  letter  from  Mr.   Gore,  and  also  one 
from  Mr.  King,  both  of  which  are  here  given,  alike  from  the  in 
trinsic  interest  and  as  showing  the  friendly  relations  between  these 
eminent  men  and  their  correspondent. 

CHRISTOPHER  GORE   TO  JEREMIAH   MASON. 

WALTHAM,    16th   August,   1815. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — .  ...  I  have  always  thought  Dallas  extremely 
culpable  in  the  course  he  has  pursued  in  relation  to  the  payment  of 
the  public  revenue.  If,  instead  of  authorizing  its  discharge  in  paper 
of  less  value  than  specie,  he  had  directed  that  nothing  should  be  re 
ceived  as  compensation  of  the  duties  but  specie  or  treasury  notes,  it 
is  almost  certain  he  would  have  compelled  all  the  banks  to  have 
paid  specie,  or  to  have  seen  their  paper  so  disgraced  as  to  become  of 
no  value.  His  treasury  notes  and  the  funded  stock  would  in  all 
probability  have  been  nearly  at  par  by  this  day.  I  can  perceive  no 
honorable  and  wise  motives  for  taking  depreciated  paper  for  duties, 
and  I  am  yet  to  learn  where  he  obtained  authority  to  receive  less 
than  money  for  the  public  revenue  except  in  treasury  notes. 

(120) 

I  cannot  refrain  from  thinking  that  notwithstanding  all  the  weak 


118  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


and  wicked  management  of  our  public  stewards  the  stocks  of  the 
United  States  will  appreciate.  The  revenue  will  be  productive, 
and  I  think  abundant  to  the  re-establishment  of  public  credit. 
United  States  stocks  have  risen  in  value,  whether  owing  to  any  cause 
that  is  like  to  have  a  permanent  influence,  I  cannot  say.  Our  Bos 
ton  banks,  from  all  that  I  learn,  will  continue  to  pay  specie ;  they  are 
satisfied  that  their  course  has  been^  and  is  correct,  and  that  eventu 
ally  they  shall  derive  advantage  from  having  adopted  and  persisted 
in  their  present  system.  The  end  of  the  war,  on  the  continent  of 
Europe,  will  be  attended  with  a  depression  of  the  price  of  specie  in 
England,  and  of  course  that  drain  for  our  specie  will  be  stopped.  I 
have  therefore  thought  that  temptations  to  our  people  to  adopt  the 
conduct  of  the  Southern  banks,  will  be  diminished,  and  motives  to 
such  of  these  as  are  solid  to  resume  the  payment  of  specie  be  in 
creased  ;  but  however  they  may  be  influenced  as  to  a  return  to  specie 
payment,  I  perceive  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  Boston  banks  will 
persevere  in  their  conduct. 

I  cannot  even  conjecture  what  will  be  Dallas'  plan  as  to  a  paper 
bank  the  next  session,  but  I  do  flatter  myself  that  under  the  auspi 
cious  circumstances  which  seem  to  exist  both  here  and  in  Europe, 
we  may  indulge  in  expectation  that  the  great  mass  of  the  commu 
nity  and  a  majority  of  Congress  will  return  to  those  safe  maxims 
which  reestablished  the  credit  of  the  United  States  in  Washington's 
administration  and  preserved  it  so  manifestly  to  the  advantage  of 
the  whole  and  every  part  of  the  Union  even  during  the  reign  of 
philosophical  democracy.  Should  this  be  the  case,  I  think  we  may 
not  only  put  down  the  schemes  of  this  mountebank  but  probably 
erect  a  fair  and  solid  institution  for  the  nation  which  will  necessarily 
crush  all  these  issues  of  irredeemable  paper.  Farewell,  my  dear 
friend.  Instead  of  ridiculing  the  brevity,  I  fear  you  will  complain 
of  the  tedious  length  of  my  epistles. 

Yours  faithfully  and  affectionately, 

C.  GORE. 

16  (121) 

RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JAMAICA,  L.  I.,  November  22,  1815. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  last  evening  received  your  letter  of  the  12th.     I 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  119 


have  some  acquaintance  with  the  condition  and  views  of  the  banks 
in  our  city,  and  though  I  have  no  particular  information  concerning 
the  banks  southward  of  us,  my  apprehensions  are  much  the  same 
as  respects  them  all.  Mr.  Burke  has  remarked,  that  all  men  possess 
ing  unlimited  and  discretionary  power,  tending  to  their  own  advan 
tage,  abuse  it;  and  we  are  not  to  expect  a  miraculous  interposition 
to  alter  the  laws  of  nature. 

To  be  sure  there  has  been  a  commendable  moderation,  which 
would  have  been  more  considerable,  in  the  administration  of  our 
city  banks,  if  they  had  unitedly  rejected  the  projects  of  Dallas.  In 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  banks 
seem  to  have  imposed  no  restraints  on  themselves;  their  issues 
have  been  excessive,  and  their  profits  indispose  them  to  resume  a 
better  course. 

By  an  agreement  between  our  city  banks,  they  are  pledged  to 
each  other,  and  to  the  public,  that  their  debts  should  not  exceed 
their  respective  capitals  and  sixty  per  cent,  addition;  that  such  of 
them  as  owed  more  than  this  sum  should  reduce  their  debts  within 
that  limit,  and  that  the  debtor  banks  should  pay  to  the '  creditor 
banks  six  per  cent,  interest  on  their  weekly  balances.  The  interest 
is  paid ;  but  I  doubt  whether  the  banks,  which  at  their  stoppage 
owed  more  than  the  limited  ratio,  have  diminished  their  debts;  and 
have  some  reason  to  believe  that  the  aggregate  debt  at  the  forego 
ing  epoch  has  been  increased,  though  not  exceeding  five  or  six  per 
cent.  According  to  a  supplemental  and  late  agreement,  the  debtor 
banks  are  severally  pledged  to  reduce  their  debts  to  the  creditor 
banks  to  $400,000  each,  before  the  first  of  January.  To  effect  this 
they  must  sell  funded  debt,  or  treasury  notes,  exceeding  a  million 
and  a  half  of  dollars;  this  would  depress  the  stock  market  and  be 

(122) 

attended  with  loss  to  the  sellers,  a  circumstance  sufficient  to  deter 
them  from  doing  it. 

Some  of  the  banks' here  desire  to  return  to  the  old  system;  others 
of  them  do  not  wish  it,  even,  and  I  think  I  risk  nothing  in  express 
ing  an  opinion  that  the  paper  circulation  will  be  persisted  in,  if  its 
discontinuance  be  left  to  the  banks  which  do  not  pay  their  notes  in 
specie.  Congress  may  correct  the  mischiefs  of  this  state  of  things 
by  passing  laws  to  establish  a  bank  on  the  only  correct  principles, 


120  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


and  providing  that  the  revenue  shall  be  receivable  only  in  specie, 
or  the  notes  of  banks  which  pay  their  notes  in  specie.  The  paper 
system  vanishes.  The  currency,  bad  as  it  is,  cannot  preserve  its 
present  credit;  unless  the  public  have  satisfactory  evidence  of  the 
probable  resumption  of  specie  payments,  it  will  become  worse;  and 
as  the  States  can  pass  no  law  protecting  the  banks  against  their 
creditors,  the  further  depreciation  of  their  notes  will  stop  their  cir 
culation,  suits  will  be  instituted  against  the  banks,  one  decision  had, 
and  the  bubble  bursts. 

Whether  Congress  will  establish  a  national  bank,  on  the  only 
sure  plan,  you  are  as  able  as  I  am  to  determine ;  if  they  do  not,  I  am 
persuaded  that  the  excessive  issues  of  bank  notes  must  put  an  end 
to  their  circulation. 

I  have  no  expectation  of  leaving  ho,me  for  Washington  before 
the  6th  or  7th  of  December.  By  late  accounts  from  Mr.  Gore,  I 
am  uncertain  whether  his  health  be  such  as  will  allow  him  to  under 
take  the  journey. 

I  should  like  well  enough  to  be  present  at  the  discussion  of  the 
commercial  convention  with  England.  If  those  who  made  it,  so  far 
as  it  is  made,  are  gratified,  let  it  become  the  law.  The  currency  is, 
in  my  opinion,  the  more  important  subject  that  will  require  our  at 
tention  and  exertion ;  and  we  shall  be  there  in  time  to  hear,  and 
to  be  heard  concerning  it.  With  very  sincere  respect  and  esteem, 

I  am,  dear  sir,  your  obedient  and  faithful  RUFUS  KING. 

I  hope  you  will  come  on  as  soon  as  you  can  without  too  great  a 

(123) 

sacrifice ;  Washington  without  the  intercourse  of  one's  friends,  few 
as  in  that  scene  they  necessarily  must  be,  would  be  insufferable. 

The  first  session  of  the  Fourteenth  Congress  began  on  the  4th 
day  of  December,  1815,  and  closed  on  the  30th  day  of  April,  1816. 
In  the  number  of  able  men  it  comprised,  it  has  rarely  been  equalled, 
and  never  surpassed  in  the  history  of  the  country.  In  the  Senate, 
besides  Mr.  Mason  himself,  there  were  his  friends,  Mr.  King,  Mr. 
Gore,  and  Mr.  Daggett.  Mr.  Campbell,  of  Tennessee,  reappeared  in 
his  old  place,  having  resigned  his  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Besides  these,  there  were  James  Barbour,  of  Virginia,  Harper,  of 
Maryland,  and  Macon,  of  North  Carolina. 

Conspicuous  among  the  members   of  the   House   was   William 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  121 


Pinkney,  of  Maryland,  a  man  of  really  great  powers,  in  spite  of  the 
vanity  and  affectation  with  which  greatness  is  not  usually  attended. 
Mr.  Randolph  appeared  anew  from  Virginia,  having  defeated  Mr. 
Eppes  by  a  small  vote,  after  a  hard  contest.  Mr.  Webster  came 
again  from  New  Hampshire,  Mr.  Clay  from  Kentucky,  and  Mr. 
Calhoun  and  Mr.  Lowndes  from  South  Carolina.  Among  other 
men  who  made  their  mark,  and  are  remembered  in  the  history  of 
the  country,  were  Mr.  Forsyth  and  Mr.  Wilde,  of  Georgia,  Mr. 
McLean  and  General  Harrison,  of  Ohio,  Mr.  Tyler,  of  Virginia,  Mr. 
Timothy  Pickering,  of  Massachusetts,  Mr.  Sergeant  and  Mr.  Hopkin- 
son,  of  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Hanson,  of  Maryland,  and  Mr.  Gaston,  of 
North  Carolina. 

The  Federalists  had  gained  since  the  date  of  the  previous  Con 
gress,  the  Senate  standing  twenty-two  Democrats  to  fourteen  Fed 
eralists,  and  the  House  a  hundred  and  seventeen  Democrats  to  sixty- 
five  Federalists. 

Mr.  Mason  did  not  take  his  seat  till  the  8th  day  of  January,  1816. 
His  brethren  showed  their  estimate  of  his  abilities  by  placing  him 
upon  the  most  important  of  their  committees,  —  that  upon  finance 
and  a  uniform  national  currency;  of  which  Mr.  Campbell,  the  ad 
ministration  leader  in  the  Senate,  was  chairman.  The  other  mem- 

(124) 

bers  'were  Mr.  Chase,  of  Vermont,  Mr.  Bibbs,  of  Georgia,  and  Mr. 
King,  of  New  York.  Mr.  Mason  was  also  put  upon  a  committee 
on  providing  for  the  publication  of  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  which  reported  a  bill  which  was  passed  by  the  Senate,  but 
was  indefinitely  postponed  in  the  House. 

The  kindred  subjects  of  finance  and  the  currency  engrossed  most 
of  the  time  of  both  Houses  during  the  first  session  of  the  Four- 
tenth  Congress.  The  government  had  a  difficult  task  before  it: 
it  was  to  reform  the  currency,  to  repair  the  waste  of  the  war,  and 
provide  the  means  of  paying  at  once  the  interest  on  the  national 
debt,  and  ultimately  discharging  the  principal ;  and  to  this  task  it 
addressed  itself  with  energy,  ability,  and,  all  things  considered,  very 
fair  success. 

Early  in  the  session  Mr.  Calhoun  introduced  into  the  House  of 
Representatives  a  bill  to  incorporate  the  subscribers  to  a  Bank  of 
the  United  States.  At  that  time  most  of  the  leading  statesmen  of  the 


122  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


country  were  agreed  as  to  the  expediency  and  constitutionality  of 
such  a  measure,  but  there  was  much  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
details,  a  difference  arising  to  some  extent  from  the  disordered  state 
of  the  currency.  Everywhere  except  in  New  England,  the  banks  had 
ceased  to  redeem  their  notes  in  specie,  and  thus  the  country  was  suf 
fering  under  the  evils  of  an  irredeemable  paper  currency. 

When  the  bill  came  up  from  the  House,  Mr.  Mason  proposed  to 
amend  it  by  striking  out  five  dollars,  the  proportion  of  specie  to  be 
paid  in  at  the  time  of  subscription,  and  inserting  ten,  and  made  a 
short  speech  in  support  of  his  motion,  but  after  some  discussion 
withdrew  it,  having  doubtless  ascertained  that  it  could  not  pass. 

He  also  proposed  the  following  proviso  to  be  added  to  the  twelfth 
rule  for  the  government  of  the  bank:  "That  all  bills  or  notes  so  to 
be  issued  by  said  corporation  shall  be  made  payable  on  demand, 
other  than  bills  or  notes  for  the  payment  of  a  sum  not  less  than 
dollars  each,  and  payable  to  the  order  of  some  person  or 
persons,  which  bills  or  notes  it  shall  be  lawful  for  said  corporation 

(125) 

to  make  payable  at  any  time  not  exceeding  days  from  the 

date  thereof."  After  some  discussion  the  amendment  was  adopted, 
and  the  blanks  were  filled  with  a  hundred  dollars  and  sixty  days. 

Having  the  strongest  dislike  of  a  paper  bank,  and  desirous  to 
impose  upon  the  new  institution,  by  the  strongest  sanctions,  the 
obligation  to  redeem  its  notes  in  specie,  he  proposed  a  further 
amendment,  giving  to  Congress  the  power  to  repeal  the  act  of  in 
corporation  if  payment  of  its  notes  in  gold  or  silver  should  be  re 
fused  for  such  length  of  time  as  Congress  might  deem  injurious  to 
the  United  States;  but  the  amendment  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of 
seventeen  to  fourteen. 

Upon  the  final  passage  Mr.  Mason  voted  against  the  bill,  as  did 
his  friends  Mr.  Gore  and  Mr.  King,  probably  on  the  same  ground 
that  led  Mr.  Webster  to  the  same  course  in  the  House,  on  account 
of  the  participation  of  the  government  in  its  direction  and  manage 
ment. 

This  session  of  Congress  was  also  memorable  for  the  passage  of 
a  tariff  act,  introduced  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  supported  by  the  lead 
ing  members  from  South  Carolina,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  pro 
tection  to  American  manufacturers.  It  was  finally  passed  in  the 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  123 


Senate  by  a  vote  of  twenty-five  to  seven,  Mr.  Mason  being  among 
the  minority,  doubtless  because  of  the  injury  the  measure  would 
cause  to  the  commercial  interests  of  Portsmouth. 

He  also  made  a  short  speech  upon  an  amendment  to  the  Consti 
tution  proposed  by  Mr.  Varnum,  of  Massachusetts,  requiring  repre 
sentatives  in  Congress  and  electors  of  the  President,  to  be  chosen 
in  separate  districts,  and  not  by  general  ticket.  Mr.  Mason  was 
inclined  to  favor  the  application  of  the  principle  of  the  choice  of 
electors,  but  was  not  disposed  to  interfere  with  the  right  of  a  State 
to  choose  representatives  by  general  ticket,  if  it  sa\v  fit. 

At  this  session  a  law  was  passed,  without  much  discussion  or 
excitement,  which  gave  to  members  of  Congress  an  annual  allow 
ance  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  instead  of  six  dollars  a  day  during 
the  session.  Little  did  the  man  who  innocently  and  unthinkingly 

(126) 

gave  their  hand  to  this  measure  dream  of  the  wind  they  were  sow 
ing,  and  the  whirlwind  they  were  to  reap!  To  us  at  the  present 
day  this  amount,  even  as  money  then  was,  does  not  seem  an  unrea 
sonable  compensation  for  the  loss  of  time,  and  sacrifice  of  private 
interests,  which  attendance  on  Congress  involved;  but  such  was 
not  then  the  temper  of  the  times.  For  some  cause  or  other,— 
perhaps  on  account  of  the  large  national  debt  then  hanging  over 
us, — this  harmless  act  gave  rise  to  one  of  those  waves  of  popular 
feeling  which  sometimes  sweep  over  our  land  like  a  prairie  fire. 
The  spending  of  the  people's  money  is  always  an  easy  theme  for 
cheap  rhetoric  and  virtuous  indignation,  and  the  act  was  furiously 
assailed  in  the  newspapers  and  in  electioneering  speeches.  The  Fed 
eral  Legislatures  of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  protested 
against  it,  the  former  declaring  it  to  be  "an  innovation  upon  the  cus 
tom,  and  not  congenial  with  the  republican  principle,  of  our  govern 
ment,"  and  Democratic  Georgia  and  Kentucky  responded  in  the  same 
strain.  Of  the  members  who  voted  for  it  many  lost  their  re-election 
by  reason  of  such  vote,  and  many  were  re-chosen  by  only  a  very  close 
vote.  Such  was  the  fright  into  which  Congress  was  thrown  by  the 
angry  growls  of  their  constituents  that  the  obnoxious  law  was 
promptly  repealed  during  the  second  session,  as  to  all  future  Con 
gresses,  though  with  a  thrifty  reservation  of  the  benefit  of  it  for 
themselves.  Mr.  Mason,  luckily,  had  voted  against  the  law,  and  thus 


124  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


the  tempest  of  popular  obloquy  did  not  beat  upon  him ;  though  no  one 
would  have  met  it  with  a  calmer  front  had  he  seen  fit  to  give  the 
measure  his  support. 

This  sensibility  as  to  the  expenditure  of  public  money  has  ceased 
to  be  a  virtue,  or  a  weakness,  of  the  American  people. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  10,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE  —  I  have  received  only  one  letter  from  you  which 
was  waiting  here  for  me.  To-day  I  have  received  a  letter  from 

(127) 

George.  I  wish  you  to  write  whenever  you  have  leisure,  as  I  wish  to 
hear  from  you  frequently.  No  important  business  has  been  done. 
The  House  of  Representatives  have  been  engaged  in  a  warm  debate 
on  an  old  question, — Whether  their  assent  is  necessary  to  give  form 
and  effect  to  a  treaty  made  by  the  President  and  Senate.  On  that 
occasion  the  celebrated  Mr.  Randolph,  and  Mr.  Pinkney  of  Baltimore, 
were  the  most  conspicuous  speakers  on  the  opposite  sides.  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  by  no  means  answered  my  expectations.  It  is  generally 
thought  he  fell  far  below  his  former  reputation.1  Appearances  still 
continue  to  indicate  a  very  quiet  and  peaceable  session.  As  in  duty 
bound,  I  last  evening  went  to  Mrs.  Madison's  drawing-room,  and 
after  seeing  the  usual  number  of  unmeaning  faces,  and  saying  and 
hearing  the  usual  number  of  unmeaning  things,  came  back  again.  I 
do  not  perceive  or  learn  that  the  concourse  of  people  here  is  greater 
than  common.  At  the  drawing-room  I  saw  Mrs.  Sargent  (formerly 
Miss  Swan),  whom  I  thought  by  far  the  finest  woman  there.  I  un 
derstood  she  is  to  set  out  for  home  to-day  or  to-morrow.  Mrs.  Derby, 
Mrs.  Harrison  of  Philadelphia  and  Mrs.  Otis,  have  been  here  and 
passed  on  southward.  Instead  of  treasury  reports  and  bank  bill  cal 
culations,  I  am  engaged  in  reading  Wraxall's  Memoirs,  which  I  find 
very  entertaining.  You  must  have  noticed  extracts  from  his  work  in 

1  It  was  in  the  course  of  this  speech  that  Mr.  Randolph  indulged  himself 
in  the  impertinence,  when  speaking  of  Mr.  Pinkney,  who  had  been  Minister  to 
England  and  Attorney-general,  and  was  at  that  time  at  the  head  of  the  Ameri 
can  bar,  of  saying,  "I  give  up  to  the  gentleman  from  Maryland — I  am  told  he  is 
from  Maryland,  etc." 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  125 


the  newspapers.  I  intend  to  amuse  myself  this  winter  as  well  as  I 
can,  and  I  earnestly  advise  you  to  the  same  determination.  I  believe 
much  depends  on  such  resolution,  for  I  certainly  do  not  dislike  what 
I  see  and  hear  here  as  grievously  as  I  did  last  winter. 

Truly  and  faithfully  yours,  J.  MASON. 

(128) 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  HIS  DAUGHTER  MARY. 

WASHINGTON,  January  14,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — I  am  gratified  by  your  letter,  especially  in 
two  particulars.  It  is  in  the  first  place  very  well  written,  and  evident 
ly  shows  a  very  considerable  amendment  in  your  handwriting.  To 
effect  this,  you  know  I  have  often  told  you  nothing  was  wanting  but 
care  and  attention.  I  wish  to  see  your  handwriting  still  further  im 
proved.  It  is  effected  with  little  labor,  and  is  a  pleasant  and  useful 
accomplishment.  It  is  also  becoming  more  fashionable  in  our  coun 
try;  a  bad  handwriting  is  deemed  vulgar.  I  am  also  much  pleased 
with  your  determination  to  persevere  in  your  mathematical  studies. 
You  began  arithmetic  with  strong  prejudices  against  it,  imbibed  at 
the  Academy,  which  I  think  you  had  mostly  overcome  before  I  left 
home.  I  hope  you  will  make  such  progress  in  Euclid  before  my  return 
as  to  make  it  necessary  for  me  to  study  it  to  enable  me  to  examine  you. 
Tell  Alfred  and  James  they  must  write  to  me  before  they  are  to  ex 
pect  any  letters  from  me. 

Your  affectionate  father,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January   19,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE,  —  I  have  your  letter  in  answer  to  one  from  Balti 
more.  You  seem  to  be  alarmed  with  the  many  perils  past.  I  do  not 
specially  remember  what  I  said  in  that  letter,  but  presume  I  men 
tioned  the  occurrence  of  a  very  unusual  number  of  carriages  broken 
down  and  other  vexatious  accidents  which  delayed  me  in  my  journey. 
But  I  certainly  did  not  intend  to  say  or  intimate  that  those  accidents 
were  attended  with  any  extraordinary  danger,  for  really  there  was 


126  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


little  or  none.  I  never  performed  the  journey  with  less  danger  or 
fatigue.  When  it  was  stormy  I  stopped  till  it  was  fair,  and  when  dark 
till  light.  Contrary  to  my  intention,  which  I  believe  I  mentioned  to 
you,  which  was  to  keep  still  and  not  trouble  (129)  myself  with  debat- 

17 

ing,  I  yesterday  delivered  in  the  Senate  a  speech  against  the  right  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  to  interfere  with  treaties  made  by  the 
President  and  Senate.  I  was  tolerably  well  satisfied  with  my  own  ar 
gument,  which  was  heard  with  attention.  I  shall  not  publish  it.  As  we 
have  no  stenographer  in  the  Senate,  the  labor  would  be  considerable, 
and  the  subject  creates  no  great  interest  with  the  public.  Many  argu 
ments  have  already  been  published.  Give  my  love  to  the  children. 

Truly  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  24,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE,  —  There  has  been  a  great  change  of  weather 
from  dry  and  cold  to  wet,  which  has  given  me  a  cold,  but  not  severe. 
I  am  otherwise  entirely  well.  I  am  sorry  to  learn  that  Dr.  Goddard 
declines  being  candidate  as  Governor.  I  fear  the  consequences,  but  I 
by  no  means  regret  the  course  I  have  adopted,  as  far  as  I  was  person 
ally  concerned.1  That  course,  so  seasonably  adopted,  relieves  me 
from  much  trouble  and  vexation,  to  which  I  might  otherwise  have 
been  exposed.  I  hope  in  the  end,  the  election  will  turn  out  right,  but 
I  am  fearful  of  it.  I  continue  in  the  same  lodgings  I  occupied  last 
winter.  I  cannot  yet  find  others  more  convenient.  The  distance  from 
our  new  capitol  is  too  great.  I  have  seen  a  good  deal  of  the  celebrated 
John  Randolph,  who  is  in  all  respects  the  most  extraordinary  man  I 
ever  knew.  He  differs  essentially  both  in  person  and  mind  from  his 
species.  I  do  not  think  so  highly  of  his  talents  as  I  did  before  I  saw 
him,  but  he  is  more  eccentric  than  he  is  reputed.  I  do  not  think  he 
will  long  sustain  his  reputation  for  talents.  I  take  less  interest  in  the 
affairs  here  than  I  formerly  did.  I  of  course  anticipate  less  trouble. 

1  Some  of  Mr.  Mason's  friends  had  desired  him  to  consent  to  be  a  candidate 
for  the  office  of  Governor,  but  he  had  declined. 

(130) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  127 

I  wish  in  my  heart  I  was  clear  of  it  all  and  at  home  with  you  and  my 
family,  where  all  my  happiness  is.  I  shall  write  to  some  of  the  chil 
dren.  Give  my  love  to  the  others,  and  kiss  the  little  ones  for  me. 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MISS  MARY  E.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  24,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  MARY,  —  I  am  pleased  with  your  progress  in  Euclid. 
The  study  of  geometry  affords  a  noble  exercise  for  the  mind.  Wom 
en  are  generally  prejudiced  against  it  and  all  kindred  studies.  They 
often  say  such  studies  are  useless  for  them.  This  is  wholly  untrue. 
The  chief  object  in  the  study  of  geometry,  as  well  as  other  depart 
ments  of  mathematics,  is  to  enlarge,  strengthen,  and  discipline  the 
mind.  If,  then,  it  be  important  for  women  to  think  and  reason,  it  is 
important  for  them  to  cultivate  these  studies  which  enable  them  to 
think  and  reason  correctly.  I  was  sorry  to  learn  that  a  foolish  an 
tipathy  to  arithmetic  prevails  in  your  Academy.  By  the  progress 
you  have  made  in  Euclid  I  trust  you  have  overcome  your  dislike  to 
such  studies.  By  application  you  may  soon  be  able  to  find  as  much  or 
more  amusement  in  them  than  in  music  or  drawing. 

If  I  do  not  write  to  Alfred  and  James  by  this  mail,  tell  them  I 
will  soon.  Your  affectionate  father, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  27,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE,  — I  expect  evil  consequences 

from  the  unexampled  difficulty  experienced  in  finding  a  candidate  for 
Governor,  stated  in  your  letter  and  in  others  I  have  received.  The 
consequences,  however,  must  be  more  deplorable  than  I  apprehend,  to 
make  me  regret  the  course  I  adopted.  I  certainly  did  not  (131)  expect 
the  extreme  difficulty  which  has  been  experienced.  All  the  world  here 
are  talking  about  Mr.  Randolph,  who  has  been  talking  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  all  the  time  of  the  session  for  three  full  days  in 


128  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


succession,  about  everybody  and  everything.  He  observes  little  or  no 
connection  in  his  discourses,  and  produces  no  effect  except  entirely 
to  destroy  his  own  reputation  and  influence.  I  have  not  heard  him 
during  any  of  his  very  long  speeches.  But  those  who  did  are  almost 
universally  disgusted.  His  standing  and  influence  is  lost.  The  ad 
ministration  party  are  in  almost  as  great  perplexity  about  their  can 
didate  for  the  next  Presidency,  as  we  are  in  New  Hampshire  about 
our  next  Governor.  At  this  moment  the  chance  is  against  Monroe, 
and  in  favor  of  Mr.  Crawford  of  Georgia.  Perhaps  a  few  days  may 
change  the  prospect,  and  set  both  aside  and  present  a  new  man.  The 
Federalists  take  no  part  in  the  quarrel.  I  am  growing  more  and  more 
tired  of  all  political  quarrels.  My  present  intention  is  to  return  to 
you  early  in  the  spring,  whether  Congress  rises  or  not.  I  do  not,  how 
ever,  yet  think  of  fixing  any  precise  time.  Depend  upon  it,  I  will 
come  as  soon  as  with  any  propriety  I  can, 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  15,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE,  —  I  have  just  received  your  note  dated  Saturday 
afternoon,  which  I  presume  must  have  been  last  Saturday.  The  mail 
had  previously  been  delayed.  I  am  glad  little  Mary  Ann  has  got  on 
her  feet.  I  should  like  to  see  her,  with  all  the  other  little  frolicsome 
actors  of  the  nursery,  which  would  be  much  more  amusing  and  grati 
fying  than  anything  I  meet  with  here.  Although  I  had  determined  to 
the  contrary,  I  find  myself  quite  as  much,  if  not  more  engaged  in  the 
ordinary  business  of  Congress  than  I  was  in  former  sessions.  Being 
obliged  to  vote  and  act  in  matters  of  no  small  national  importance,  I 
could  if  I  would,  avoid  taking  a  (132)  considerable  interest  in  them, 
which  often  compels  me  to  take  some  pains  to  get  the  necessary  in 
formation.  I  shall  not,  therefore,  have  so  easy  a  time  of  it  this  winter 
as  I  intended.  There  is  an  unusual  multiplicity  of  business,  and  the 
present  appearance  is  that  we  shall  have  a  long  session.  I  do  not, 
however,  intend,  unless  there  should  be  more  necessity  for  it  than  I 

anticipate,  to  tarry  longer  than  I  first  determined  on 

Truly  yours,  J.  MASON. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  129 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  Saturday  evening,  February   17,   1816. 

MY  DEAR  MARY,  —  In  your  letter  of  llth  of  February,  you  say 
the  letter  you  had  just  received  from  me  was  the  only  one  you  had  re 
ceived  for  more  than  a  week.  I  think  it  must  have  been  owing  to 
some  irregularity  in  the  mail,  for  I  do  not  believe  I  have  ever  omitted 
to  write  so  long.  I  have  usually  written  as  often  I  supposed  as  twice 
a  week.  For  the  future  I  will  endeavor  that  no  so  great  interval  of 
silence  shall  occur.  I  will  at  all  events  be  careful  not  to  be  in  debt  on 
this  score.  All  your  letters  shall  be  punctually  answered  at  least,  and 
I  wish  you  to  write  as  often  as  you  can.  I  can  with  truth  assure  you 
that  the  most  agreeable  moments  I  experience  here  are  those  em 
ployed  in  reading  your  letters.  You  cannot  well  conceive  the  interest 
which  the  narration  of  any  little  family  incident  excites.  One  reason 
for  it,  is,  that  I  take  no  interest  in  the  concerns  of  most  of  those  I  see 
and  associate  with.  This  has  some  exceptions.  There  are  a  few  men 
here,  for  whom  I  have  not  only  a  high  respect,  but  also  a  most  sincere 
esteem.  My  acquaintance  with  them  I  consider  the  chief  compensa 
tion  for  the  many  sacrifices  I  have  made  in  coming  and  remaining 
here.  But  warm  friendships  are  not  often  contracted  among  men 
who  have  arrived  at  or  passed  the  middle  age  of  life.  This  is  perhaps 
more  especially  the  case  among  ambitious  men,  of  which  character, 
the  most  I  see  here  partake  in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  I  do  not  mix 

(133) 

so  much  in  society  as  I  told  you  I  intended  to  do.  I  cannot  do  it  with 
out  more  trouble  than  it  is  worth.  The  situation  and  condition  of  the 
place  render  it  very  inconvenient.  Mr.  Dexter,a  of  whom  you  in 
quire,  I  have  seen  very  seldom  and  accidentally.  He  occupies  a  small 
tenement  near  the  Capitol.  I  see  but  little  more  of  him  than  I  should 
if  he  was  at  Boston.  I  am  told  he  is  a  very  common  attendant  at  the 

a  Samuel  Dexter  is  here  alluded  to,  the  celebrated  Boston  lawyer,  who  con 
ducted  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  The  Embargo  Case,  by 
which  embargo,  all  shipping  interests  of  New  England  were  virtually  destroyed. 
He  was  born  in  1761  and  died  in  1816,  May  4th — less  than  three  months  from 
the  time  the  above  letter  was  written.  See  Webster's  great  tribute  to  him  as 
a  lawyer  in  his  reply  to  Hayne,  in  the  United  States  Senate.  At  another  time, 
Webster  said  of  him,  in  comparison  with  Judge  Parsons:  "In  point  of  char- 


130  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


President's,  or  rather  Mrs.  Madison's,  where  I  never  am  more  than 
mere  etiquette  requires.  Mr.  Atherton  I  see  very  seldom,  not  more 
than  two  or  three  times  since  I  came  here,  and  then  only  for  i  few 
minutes.  He  and  I  live  almost  four  miles  apart.  Mr.  Marsh  has 
gone  home.  Mr.  Gore  has  been  confined  the  most  of  the  time  he  has 
been  here.  His  complaint  has  been  a  lameness  in  one  of  his  knees, 
which  he  thinks  is  caused  by  rheumatic  affection.  He  is  recovering 
slowly,  and  rides  out  almost  every  day.  He  expects  in  a  few  days  to 
resume  his  seat  in  the  Senate.  He  has  'suffered  much  and  borne  it 
with  great  fortitude.  He  has  not,  however,  at  any  time  supposed  his 
situation  dangerous Affectionately  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  25,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — Mr.  King  is  nominated  for  Governor  of  New 
York,  as  you  have  probably  seen  in  the  papers.  It  was  without  his 
knowledge  or  consent.  He  has  not  determined  what  he  will  do.  A 
very  earnest  press  is  made  on  him,  which  seems  to  embarrass  him  a 
little.  If  he  assents,  it  will  be  attended  with  a  great  sacrifice  of  per 
sonal  feeling  and  inclination.  The  weather  here  is  now  mild,  and  ex 
hibits  the  appearance  of  early  spring.  The  spring  is  much  earlier 
than  ours.  No  more  severe  cold  is  expected.  I  shall  write  to  some  of 
the  children,  and  wish  you  to  give  my  love  to  the  rest.  I  would  give 
more  for  an  opportunity  of  seeing  them  than  all  the  grave  politicians 
in  Washington.  I  can  form  no  opinion  of  the  end  of  the  session,  but  I 
intend  to  terminate  my  session  (134)  some  time  in  April.  The  politi 
cal  fever  here  is  less  violent  than  the  last  winter.  Party  zeal  seems  to 
be  subsiding,  and  we  are  of  course  more  quiet  and  good-natured. 

acter,  Dexter  undoubtedly  stands  next  to  Judge  Parsons  at  the  Boston  Bar; 
and  in  the  neighboring  counties  and  states,  I  suppose  he  stands  above  him.  He 
has  a  strong,  generalizing,  capacious  mind.  He  sees  his  subject  in  one  view, 
and  in  that  view,  single  and  alone,  he  presents  it  to  the  contemplation  of  his 
hearer.  Unable  to  follow  Parsons  in  minute  technical  distinctions,  Parsons  is 
unable  to  follow  him  in  occasional  vaultings  and  boundings  of  his  mind.  Un 
like  Parsons  too,  he  cannot  be  great  on  little  occasions.  Unlike  him,  Parsons 
cannot  reject  every  little  consideration  on  great  occasions.  Parsons  begins  with 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  131 


Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

P.  s. —  Either  this  mail  or  the  next  I  shall  send  the  little  children 
some  picture-books.    I  have  Jane's  letter,  for  which  thank  you. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,   March  8,   1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — You  seem  to  have  a  pretty  strong  in 
clination  for  reading  Congress  speeches.  Could  I  suppose  any  con 
siderable  portion  of  the  community  participated  with  you  in  that  in 
clination,  I  should  perhaps  be  more  inclined  to  adopt  what  I  conceive 
to  be  your  advice  on  this  subject.  It  is  said  a  stenographer  is  to  at 
tend  in  the  Senate,  in  which  case  it  is  probable  your  inclination  will 

be  gratified 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  March  10,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  George  in 
which  he  gives  a  pretty  favorable  account  of  himself.  I  hope  it  is  not 
unjust.  I  have  written  to  him  two  or  three  times.  Although  I  am 
satisfied  Dr.  Appleton  will  do  for  him  all  in  his  power,  I  cannot  but 
feel  some  anxiety  about  him.  The  more  I  see  and  notice  the  world, 
the  more  I  am  desirous  of  bestowing  attention  on  the  education  of 
our  children.  It  is  of  vast  importance  to  them.  In  our  country  edu 
cation  is  more  important  than  in  those  where  rank  and  fortune  se 
cure  a  certain  grade  and  standing  in  society.  I  should  decidedly  pre- 

common  maxims,  and  his  course  to  the  particular  subject  and  particular  con 
clusion  brightens  and  shines  more  and  more  clearly  to  its  end.  Dexter  begins 
with  the  particular  position  which  he  intends  to  support;  darkness  surrounds 
him;  no  one  knows  the  path  by  which  he  arrives  at  his  conclusion.  Around 
him,  however,  is  a  circle  of  light  when  he  opens  his  mouth.  Like  a  conflagra 
tion  seen  at  a  distance,  the  evening  mists  may  intervene  between  it  and  the  eye 
of  the  observer,  although  the  blaze  ascend  to  the  sky  and  cannot  be  seen." — 
Harvey's  Reminiscences  of  Webster,  p.  22,  said  by  Webster  in  1804,  while  in 
Gore's  office. 
—10 


132  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


fer  giving  our  children  superior  educations  to  giving  them  fortunes 
without  educations.  With  this  opinion  I  (135)  know  any  neglect  of 
duty  towards  them  in  this  particular  will  be  attended  with  lasting  re 
gret.  Thus  far  I  trust  we  have  performed  this  duty  with  diligence,  and 
I  hope  some  success.  To  Mary,  I  have  no  doubt  you  pay  all  necessary 
attention.  From  you  she  must  receive  the  most  important  part  of 
her  education.  Others  may  teach  her  common  literature  and  ordi 
nary  external  accomplishments,  but  you  alone  can  with  maternal  care 
and  authority,  teach  her  to  cultivate  pure  affections  and  true  sensi 
bility,  and  all  the  virtues  appropriate  to  the  female  character.  This 
is  the  instruction  most  necessary  for  a  young  female,  and  compared 
with  which  all  other  instruction  is  of  little  value.  We  are  employed 
here,  as  usual,  in  matters  which  we  deem  of  great  importance  and 
which  other  folks  care  nothing  about.  The  Bank  is  still  under  con 
sideration,  and  excites  increased  interest.  It  is  generally  believed  the 
bill  will  pass.  Nothing  is  determined  as  to  the  Presidential  election, 
but  I  think  it  will  soon  be.  I  often  think  of  home,  and  never  without 
wishing  myself  there.  Give  my  respects  to  Mr.  Fales  and  love  to  the 
children.  Yours  most  affectionately, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  March  16,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE,  —  I  have  had  two  letters  from  you  since  I  last 
wrote.  I  am  exceedingly  glad  our  domestic  concerns  are  so  prosper 
ous.  You  seem  to  have  had  less  trouble  in  managing  them  than,  con 
sidering  the  unlucky  accidents  which  have  occurred,  I  expected.  I 
most  sincerely  wish  I  was  at  home  to  share  them  with  you.  I  cannot 
yet  fix  the  time  I  can  set  out  to  return.  I  have  intended,  as  I  believe. 
I  have  written  you,  to  set  out  the  first  part  of  April.  I  still  intend  it 
if  possible.  There  is,  however,  some  business  to  come  before  Con 
gress,  which  I  shall  be  very  unwilling  to  leave  unfinished.  It  is  now 
thought  the  session  will  end  by  the  last  of  April.  Of  this,  however,  no 
certain  opinion  can  be  formed.  An  act  has  just  been  passed,  changing 
the  compensation  for  (136)  members  of  Congress  from  an  allowance 
of  six  dollars  a  day  to  a  salary  of  $1,500  a  year.  It  is  supposed  this  will 
shorten  the  sessions.  The  real  object  is  to  increase  the  compensation, 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  133 


which  it  will  do  to  the  amount  of  about  one  third.  Though  I  like 
having  the  money  well  enough,  I  was  among  those  who  doubted  the 
expediency  of  taking  it  in  this  way.  I  do  not  think  this  measure  will 
have  much  effect  in  shortening  the  present  session,  whatever  it  may 
do  in  future.  The  Bank  Bill,  which  has  been  a  long  time  under  con 
sideration,  has  just  passed  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  come 
to  the  Senate,  where  it  will  doubtless  pass.  Mrs.  Madison,  with  other 
high  court  dames,  lately  petitioned  Congress  for  an  act  of  incorpora 
tion  for  a  Female  Asylum,  of  which  Mrs.  M.  was  to  be  presidentess. 
The  Senate  most  ungallantly  rejected  the  petition.  Being  among  the 
rebels  on  this  occasion,  I  expect  to  experience  no  more  smiles  at  the 
palace.  This  evening  is  to  be  held  the  grand  Democratic  caucus  for 
designating  the  next  President.  There  has  been  great  difficulty,  and 
the  party  is  now  believed  to  be  so  equally  divided  between  Monroe  and 
Crawford,  that  many  doubt  which  will  be  selected.  I  expect  Monroe 
will  succeed.  I  have  not  had  the  easy,  amusing  winter  I  intended. 
My  time  has  been  mostly  devoted  to  the  business  of  Congress.  I  have 
spent  little  time  out  of  my  own  lodgings,  except  in  the  Senate 
Chamber.  The  winter  has,  however,  passed  as  much  to  my  satisfac 
tion  as  I  expected.  Party  spirit  has  a  good  deal  subsided.  If  I  can 
get  away  in  season,  I  shall  be  tolerably  satisfied. 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  10,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE,  —  I  have  had  no  letter  from  you  since  the  one 
dated  January  31st.  I  believe  I  have  not  written  so  often  for  the  ten 
days  past  as  I  usually  do.  The  truth  is,  I  have  been  a  good  deal  oc 
cupied  by  the  ordinary  business  of  Congress.  Though  nothing  of 
very  great  importance  has  been  under  consideration,  we  (137)  have 

18 

been  very  much  engaged  in  the  common  business  of  the  session.  The 
land  tax,  which  has  occasioned  so  much  debate  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  has  not  yet  come  to  the  Senate.  It  is  very  doubtful  what 
will  be  its  fate,  as  also  with  the  bank  bill.  The  matter  of  the  next  presi 
dency  still  continues  to  be  the  subject  of  the  greatest  interest.  The 
chances  between  Monroe  and  Crawford  are  supposed  to  be  nearly 


134  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

equal.  The  common  opinion  is  that  they  will  not  settle  the  question 
between  themselves,  but  refer  it  to  the  nation.  I  think  it  most  prob 
able  they  will  in  some  way  make  a  compromise 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  March  20,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE,  —  I  presume  you  have  seen  the  result  of  the 
Democratic  caucus,  in  the  nomination  of  Colonel  Monroe  by  a  very 
small  majority.  This  has  been  and  continues  to  be  the  subject  of 
general  conversation  and  high  excitement.  Crawford's  friends, 
though  dissatisfied,  will  probably  in  the  end  submit.  This,  however, 
is  not  yet  certain.  We  are  now  beginning  to  hasten,  in  the  despatch 
of  public  business,  to  bring  the  session  to  a  close.  I  think  Congress 
will  adjourn  in  the  course  of  April.  Whether  I  can  set  out  before  the 
adjournment,  I  cannot  yet  say.  I  have  heard  no  news  of  the  New 
Hampshire  election.  I  feel  anxious  to  hear,  and  hope  to-day's  or  to 
morrow's  mail  will  settle  it. 

In  haste,  truly  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  March  24,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE,  —  I  have  received  your  letter  of  12th,  after  the 
one  dated  the  15th  inst.  The  mail  has,  during  the  winter,  been  very 
irregular.  I  was  pretty  well  prepared  to  expect  the  unfortunate  re- 

(138) 

suit  of  the  election  as  to  the  governor,  but  not  as  to  the  Legislature.1 
I  still  hope  the  Senate  is  not  changed.  If  all  the  departments  of  gov 
ernment  are  thus  suddenly  changed,  I  fear  much  mischief  from  the 
first  ebullition  of  party  heat.  The  presidential  election  here  is  gen 
erally  believed  to  be  determined  in  favor  of  Colonel  Monroe,  not,  how 
ever,  without  much  dissatisfaction  among  the  Democrats 

1  At  the  spring  election  of  1816,  the  Democratic  party  in  New  Hampshire 
elected  their  candidate  for  governor,  and  a  majority  of  members  in  both  houses 
of  the  Legislature. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  135 


I  never  felt  a  stronger  desire  to  be  at  home  than  at  the  present  time. 
This  is  about  the  time,  or  near  it,  when  I  had  intended  to  set  out  on  my 
return.  But  however  disagreeable  it  is  to  tell  you  so,  I  cannot  deter 
mine  with  any  certainty  on  my  return.  At  present,  with  a  proper  re 
gard  for  my  duty,  I  cannot  leave  my  seat  vacant  unless  urged  by  high 
necessity.  The  bill  for  incorporating  the  bank  is  coming  under  the 
consideration  of  the  Senate.  Very  important  alterations  will  be  at 
tempted.  The  new  tariff  of  duties  is  also  to  be  acted  on,  with  several 
other  important  measures.  I  think  Congress  will  rise  the  latter  part 
of  April,  perhaps  by  the  20th.  When  I  have  mentioned  to  two  or 
three  of  my  friends  an  intention  of  going  away  before  the  end  of  the 
session,  they  have  objected  in  the  strongest  terms.  I  will  come  as 
soon  as  I  can.  I  have  written  to  my  brother  I  shall  return  by  way  of 

Lebanon Affectionately  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  March  26,   1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — In  your  last  letter  you  mention  your  anxiety 
about  the  children,  especially  the  eldest.  It  is  a  subject  on  which 
we  shall  probably  always  feel  anxious.  As  they  are,  to  all  appear 
ance,  doing  tolerably  well,  I  think  it  wisest  and  best  for  us  to  en 
deavor  rather  to  lessen  than  increase  this  anxiety.  We  ought  to 
and  I  trust  shall  faithfully  perform  our  duty  towards  them.  This 
we  must  do  to  the  utmost  of  our  power.  This  done,  the  excess  of 
anxiety  ought  to  be  repressed,  because  it  can  do  them  no  good  but 

(139) 

may  become  to  us  the  source  of  much  suffering.  You  say  you 
doubt  the  propriety  of  sending  Mary  from  home  this  spring.1  I 
rather  think,  as  I  did  when  we  last  conversed  about  it,  that  it  will  be 
best  for  her  to  go  to  Boston,  if  a  suitable  situation  can  be  found  for 
her.  Perhaps,  however,  there  will  be  no  benefit  in  fixing  her  fancy 
on  this  plan  at  present.  If  anything  should  prevent  it,  she  might 
feel  disappointed,  and  be  less  inclined  to  attend  to  her  studies  at 
home.  The  expediency  of  sending  her  there  will  depend  much  on 
the  finding  a  good  situation.  I  shall  be  at  home  in  season  to  de- 
1  That  is,  to  school  in  Boston. 


136  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


termine  about  it.  In  the  meantime,  you  can  make  such  inquiries  as 
shall  be  in  your  power.  Since  I  last  wrote  you  I  have  made  two 
short  arguments  on  the  tedious  and  trite  subject  of  the  Bank.  One, 
I  believe,  was  no  great  affair;  the  other,  in  my  opinion,  pretty  good. 
It  was  supposed  to  have  some  effect  towards  attaining  its  object, 
which  was  an  amendment  to  the  bill  carried  against  the  pronounced 
determination  to  have  no  amendment  made.  This  bill  will  occupy 
the  Senate  for  several  days.  You  have  seen  in  the  papers  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  Bagot,  the  British  minister.  His  wife,  it  is  expected, 
will  be  the  subject  of  the  most  attention  here.  She  is  the  niece  of 
the  great  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  of  course  the  subject  of  atten 
tion  and  curiosity.  They  have  taken  lodgings  in  the  same  hotel  I 
am  in,  for  a  short  time,  till  their  house  shall  be  prepared.  I  called 
yesterday  to  make  a  visit  of  form.  The  lady  affects  great  affability, 
and  professes  to  be  pleased  with  everything  she  sees  in  the  country. 
Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  April  6,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — Yesterday  I  received  your  letter  of  30  March, 
and  am  glad  to  know  you  all  continue  well.  I  feel  very  impatient 
with  the  prospect  of  being  detained  here  longer  than  I  intended. 
I  think  the  session  will  end  the  latter  part  of  this  month.  I  do  not 

(140) 

intend  to  stay  longer  than  about  the  20th.  The  Bank  Bill  has 
passed.  The  new  tariff  of  duties  is  now  the  business  of  the  greatest 
importance.  That  still  remains  under  discussion  in  the  House  of 
Representatives.  It  will  be  before  the  Senate  next  week.  The  last 
of  a  session  is  always  unpleasant  on  many  accounts.  The  business 
always  presses  so  as  to  leave  no  leisure  to  those  who  attend  to  it.  But 
what  is  worse,  everybody  becomes  sour  and  ill-tempered.  After  be 
ing  shut  up  together  for  three  or  four  months,  debating  and  quarrel 
ing,  it  would  be  expected  that  better  men  than  the  most  of  us  are, 
would  become  heartily  tired  of  each  other.  I  do  not  think  a  legis 
lative  body  ever  ought  to  continue  together  more  than  three  months 
at  one  time.  This  is  certainly  long  enough,  if  they  sit  in  such  a  place 
as  Washington,  where  they  can  see  and  converse  with  none  but  them- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  137 


selves.  With  all  these  grievances,  the  winter  has  passed  tolerably 
well  with  me,  certainly  as  well  as  I  expected.  I  have  been  little  in 
company,  because  I  found  little  amusement  and  less  instruction,  in 
any  I  could  hear  of  here.  Party  spirit,  which  the  last  session  was 
very  acrimonious,  has  greatly  subsided.  Indeed  party  distinction  has 
almost  disappeared  in  both  houses  of  Congress.  It  is  possible  some 
occasion  may  again  call  it  up.  But  the  distinctions  between  Federal 
ists  and  Democrats  will,  I  think,  never  again  be  felt  as  strongly  as 
they  have  heretofore  been.  There  is  now  more  appearance  of  the 
distinction  being  forgotten  than  I  have  ever  before  seen. 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 


JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  April  14,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — I  have  your  letter  of  7th  April.  I  have  ex 
pected  Congress  would  rise  the  22d  inst.,  which  was  named  for  that 
purpose.  Yesterday  the  question  was  called  up  in  the  Senate,  and 
it  was  thought  impossible,  with  proper  consideration  of  the  public 
business,  to  adjourn  at  that  time.  The  determination  of  it  is  post- 
cm) 

poned  to  next  Saturday.  Congress  it  is  said,  and  I  believe,  will 
adjourn  before  the  last  of  the  present  month.  I  have  always  in 
tended,  if  Congress  did  not  adjourn,  not  to  postpone  my  journey 
home  later  than  the  22d.  But  I  cannot  be  certain  of  setting  out  at 
that  time.  The  Tariff  Bill,  with  some  other  important  matters,  re 
main  to  be  acted  on.  I  am  told  I  must  not  go  away  till  these  are 
despatched,  and  that  will  be  at  or  near  the  end  of  the  session.  I 
want  to  leave  this  place,  where  there  is  little  I  like,  and  I  want  ex 
ceedingly  to  be  at  home,  where  is,  and  always  must  be,  all  my 
happiness.  I  shall  come  as  soon  as  I  can.  I  have  agreed  with 
Mr.  Webster  that  we  will  go  together.  He  wishes  to  set  out  by 
the  25th.  I  wish  you  to  continue  writing  to  me  here,  till  I  mention 
some  other  place  for  your  letters  to  meet  me  on  my  way 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 


138  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  Monday,  April  22,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE, — It  was  till  lately  expected  that  Congress  would 
rise  on  the  evening  of  today.  The  period  is  now  postponed  certainly 
till  the  first  of  next  week.  There  is  a  great  press  of  business  in  the 
Senate,  mostly  of  an  ordinary  sort,  but  some  important.  Mr.  Webster 
and  I  have  agreed  to  return  together.  He  wants  to  set  out  this  week. 
I  have  doubts  whether  it  will  be  possible  for  me  to  do  so  without  in 
curring  an  imputation  of  neglect  of  duty.  I  wish  you  to  direct  to  me 
here,  till  I  request  you  to  omit  it.  Your  letters  will  be  sent  after  me 
on  the  road  if  they  come  after  I  have  set  out.  The  spring  here  is  said 
to  be  very  backward,  the  weather  for  three  or  four  weeks  having  been 
cold,  till  a  few  days  past.  The  fruit  trees  are  still  in  blow,  and  the 
country  begins  to  look  pleasant.  I  have  taken  advantage  of  it  by 
two  or  three  short  rides,  which  after  my  winter's  confinement  have 
been  very  agreeable.  On  Saturday  I  went  to  dine  at  a  Mr.  Calvert's, 
near  Bladensburg,  where  I  saw  a  collection  of  paintings  supposed  to  be 
the  best  ever  seen  in  (142)  this  country.  They  were  sent  to  this  coun 
try  to  escape  Bonaparte's  grasp,  and  are  soon  to  return  to  Europe. 
Yesterday  I  went  to  Alexandria,  where  I  attended  church  in  the  fore 
noon,  and  dined  with  Mr.  Swan.  If  I  was  not  confined  to  my  place 
in  the  Senate,  I  think  I  could  dispose  of  a  few  days  pleasantly  enough 
in  making  a  few  short  excursions.  I  have  never  been  here  when  the 
weather  was  so  inviting.  The  congressional  invalids,  of  whom  there 
have  been  a  considerable  number,  are  fast  recovering.  Dissatisfac 
tion  with  their  situation  and  want  of  exercise  were,  I  believe,  the 
chief  cause  of  their  complaints.  I  promise  myself  good  weather,  and 
consequently  a  pleasant  journey  home.  I  shall  not  come  home  so 
rapidly  as  I  sometimes  have.  I  must  stop  in  Connecticut,  and  Mr. 
Webster  wants  to  be  a  day  or  two  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York, 
which  will  also  be  agreeable  to  me,  if  we  can  spare  the  time.  It  will 
make  but  a  few  days  difference  in  the  time  of  my  getting  home. 

Affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

The  second  session  of  the  Fourteenth  Congress  bega"n  on  the  sec 
ond  day  of  December,  1816,  and  closed  on  the  fourth  day  of  March. 
1817.  Mr.  Mason  was  in  his  place  on  the  first  day  of  the  session. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  139 


He  was  again  put  upon  the  leading  committee  of  the  Senate,  that 
on  finance,  and  he  was  also  a  member  of  that  upon  commerce  and 
manufactures.  The  legislation  of  the  session  was  not  of  much  in 
terest  or  significance.  The  most  important  measure  acted  upon 
was  a  bill  introduced  by  Mr.  Calhoun  to  appropriate  as  a  permanent 
fund  for  internal  improvements  the  bonus  of  the  bank  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  government's  share  of  its  dividends.  This  passed 
the  House  after  much  opposition,  and  by  a  very  small  majority,  and 
also  went  through  the  Senate  with  a  large  negative  vote,  but,  doubt 
less  much  to  the  surprise  of  its  author  and  its  chief  supporters,  it 
was  vetoed  by  the  President  on  the  ground  of  unconstitutionality. 

To  those  who  remember  the  later  years  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  public 
life,  it  will  be  curious  to  note  that  at  this  time  his  name  was  identi 
fied  with  three  such  measures  as  a  bank  of  the  United  States,  a 

(143) 

protective  tariff,  and  a  national  scheme  of  internal  improvements. 
He  was  then  a  very  young  man,  having  only  reached  the  age  of 
thirty-five  years  at  the  close  of  the  Fourteenth  Congress.  He  was 
the  administration  leader  in  the  House,  and  had  won  that  position 
by  a  combination  of  qualities  at  once  solid  and  brilliant;  by  patient 
industry,  by  eloquence  and  energy  in  debate,  legislative  tact,  com 
prehensive  statesmanship,  and  singular  powers  of  fascination  over 
those  who  came  within  his  personal  influence.  He  was  the  pride 
and  hope  of  a  great  party  to  which  he  belonged,  and  no  man  of  his 
age  had  seemingly  so  brilliant  a  future  before  him.  Over  Mr.  Clay, 
his  only  rival  in  popular  favor,  he  had  an  advantage  in  the  austere 
purity  of  his  private  life.  It  is  sad  to  think  of  the  false  lights  that 
led  him  astray  in  his  latter  days,  and  of  the  doubtful  name  he  has 
left  in  history,  when  compared  with  his  striking  early  promise. 

Mr.  Mason,  on  the  17th  day  of  February,  submitted  a  motion  to 
reduce  the  military  peace  establishment  from  ten  thousand  to  five 
thousand  men,  and  supported  the  measure  in  an  able  and  elaborate 
speech,  showing  at  once  reflection  and  research.  He  was  replied  to 
by  Mr.  Barbour,  of  Virginia,  and  his  motion  was  indefinitely  post 
poned  by  a  vote  of  twenty-four  to  eleven. 

Mrs.  Mason  passed  the  winter  with  her  husband  at  Washington, 
and  thus  we  miss  the  record  of  his  life  there  which  is  supplied  in 
previous  years  by  his  letters  to  her.  He  wrote  occasionally  to  his 


140  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


children,  and  one  or  two  letters  passed  between  him  and  his  friend 
Mr.  Gore,  who  since  the  close  of  the  preceding  session  had  been  com 
pelled  by  ill  health  to  resign  his  seat  in  the  Senate.  He  also  wrote 
a  letter  to  Mr.  King,  who  did  not  take  his  seat  till  the  30th  of  De 
cember. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

WASHINGTON,  December  15,  1816. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  your  letter  of  the  8th,  and  though  I  am  for 
many  reasons  desirous  of  your  being  here,  I  cannot  state  any  im 
portant  business  which  is  likely  soon  to  come  before  the  Senate. 

(144) 

The  standing  dishes  served  up  by  the  President  will,  I  think,  re 
main  untouched  for  the  benefit  of  his  successors.  An  attempt  will 
be  made  to  establish  a  national  university,  which  I  am  told  will 
probably  fail  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  A  bankrupt  law  and 
a  navigation  act,  similar  to  the  British,  will  also  be  attempted. 
The  western  men  intend  to  upset  the  whiskey  tax,  which  must  of 
course,  be  attended  with  the  repeal  of  all  the  internal  taxes.  But  I 
do  not  think  any  of  these  will  reach  the  Senate  till  after  New  Year's 
day. ' 

The  President  has  found  out,  as  you  have  probably  seen  by  the 
papers,  that  the  Kentucky  Horse  Act  of  the  last  session  needs  mend 
ing.1  Much  abuse  is  cast  upon  poor  Lee,  the  commissioner.  I  be 
lieve  his  decisions  are  of  a  complexion  very  similar  to  the  law  he 
acts  under.  A  treaty  with  Sweden  has  been  sent  to  us.  I  did  not 
hear  it  read.  When  printed,  I  will  send  you  a  copy. 

We,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Webster,  are  lodging  in  one  of  the  houses 
of  Carroll's  Block,  a  few  doors  south  of  Queen's  Tavern.  We  are 
entirely  by  ourselves.  The  people  of  the  house  are  disposed  to  do 

1  Mr.  Mason  here  alludes  to  an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  authorize  the  pay 
ment  for  property  lost,  captured,  or  destroyed  by  the  enemy,  while  in  the  military 
service  of  the  United  States,  and  for  other  purposes,"  approved  April  9,  1816. 
It  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Kentucky,  and  horses  formed  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  property  referred  to.  Mr.  Lee  was  the  commissioner  under  this 
act.  The  President  sent  a  special  message  to  Congress,  December  6,  1816,  calling 
their  attention  to  the  act  as  needing  further  legislation. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  141 


the  best  they  can  for  us.  We  do  not  fare  very  sumptuously,  but  on 
the  whole  are  as  comfortably  situated  as  we  had  reason  to  expect. 
Crawford's  establishment,  is  continued  by  his  brother,  who,  when 
I  called  there,  was  not  to  be  found.  The  bar  tender  told  me  you 
were  expected.  Major  Lewis  Grosvenor  and  Herbert  are  the  only 
members  of  Congress  there.  I  am  told  the  establishment  is  some 
what  deranged.  Bailey,  a  reformed  gambler  from  Virginia,  has 
taken  and  fitted  up  for  a  tavern  the  house  south  of  the  Old  Capitol, 
where  the  Supreme  Court  held  their  session  last  winter,  together 
with  the  house  adjoining.  He  also  has  the  house  occupied  by  Dal 
las.  It  is  said  his  accommodations  are  very  good,  and  that  the  cook- 

19  (145) 

ery  is  superior  to  what  has  been  found  here.  Should  you  prefer 
being  on  the  Hill  to  going  to  Georgetown,  as  I  hope  you  will,  I  am 
inclined  to  think  you  may  be  as  well  suited  at  Bailey's  as  at  Craw 
ford's.  I  am  told  that  Mrs.  Wadsworth,  who  has  pretty  good  rooms, 
has  no  lodgers.  I  will  willingly  make  any  further  inquiries  or  ar 
rangements  for  you  on  this  subject  that  you  may  wish. 

I  am,  sincerely  and  faithfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

J.  MASON. 

P.  S. — Mr.  Harper  has  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  which  is 
to  be  filled  by  Hanson.  I  am  in  doubt  whether  to  set  this  down  to 
the  side  of  profit  or  loss. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MISS  MARY  E.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  December  19,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — Since  we  parted  with  you  in  Boston,  we  have 
heard  from  you  less  frequently  than  we  have  wished.  Your  mother 
has  several  times  expressed  some  anxiety  about  the  cause  of  your 
silence,  fearing  you  was  sick.  You  must  in  future  write  to  us  of- 
tener.  We  shall  expect  a  letter  from  you  in  future  either  to  me  or 
your  mother,  once  a  week  at  least,  and  as  much  oftener  as  your  lei 
sure  and  inclination  will  permit.  Separated  from  us  and  all  the 
family,  as  you  are,  we  feel  more  anxiety  to  hear  from  you  often  than 
we  otherwise  should.  I  wish  you  to  give  me  a  particular  account 


142  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


of  your  studies,  and  how  you  are  suited  in  all  particulars  with  your 
situation.  Your  mother  bore  the  journey  here  remarkably  well.  I 
think  her  health  is  better  than  it  has  been  the  two  or  three  years 
past.  I  hope  there  is  no  occasion  for  my  advising  you  to  diligent 
application  to  your  studies.  You  must  recollect  that  the  coming  two 
or  three  years  of  your  life,  if  misspent,  cannot  be  recalled.  You 
will  at  that  time  be  a  young  woman,  to  whom  all  who  may  know  or 
hear  of  you  will  assign  a  character  which  it  will  not  be  easy  after 
wards  to  alter,  I  trust  your  situation  and  opportunities  are  favor- 

(146) 

able  for  improvement,  and  I  entertain  sanguine  expectations  of 
your  rapid  progress.  You  mention  that  Dr.  Park  has  said  nothing 
to  you  about  composition.  When  I  saw  him  I  told  him  I  should 
submit  the  direction  of  your  studies  to  him.  I  have  much  confi 
dence  in  him.  You  may,  if  you  please,  mention  the  subject  of  com 
position  to  him.  Inform  me  if  you  experience  any  difficulty  in  get 
ting  to  school  in  bad  weather,  and  how  your  health  is.  I  believe 
your  mother  wrote  to  you  that  you  might  lend  the  books  you  men 
tioned  as  you  wish.  In  your  vacation,  should  an  opportunity  occur, 
I  think  you  had  best  make  a  visit  to  Amherst. 

I  am  most  affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  CHRISTOPHER  GORE. 

WASHINGTON,  December  30,  1816. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  your  letter  in  which,  among  many  better 
things,  you  remind  me  of  my  negligence  in  not  writing  to  you.  My 
case  is  not  quite  so  bad  as  you  suppose.  I  really  have  written  to  you 
once  since  I  arrived  here.  As  nearly  as  I  can  recollect,  it  was  about 
a  fortnight  ago,  and  which  of  course  you  ought  to  have  received  before 
your  letter  to  me.  I  suppose  my  wrong  direction  must  have  delayed 
your  receiving  it.  Of  news  we  have  nothing.  In  dullness  and  in 
dolence  in  the  way  of  business,  the  commencement  of  this  exceeds 
all  former  sessions  of  Congress  which  I  have  known.  As  yet,  nothing 
has  been  done  in  either  House.  In  the  Senate  we  have  said  nothing. 
The  Representatives  have  talked  a  little,  but  to  no  point  or  purpose. 
Webster's  report  on  the  Compensation  Law  is  the  only  thing  produced 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  143 


which  has  attracted  any  notice.  All  the  friends  of  that  ivicked  meas 
ure  think  he  has  made  for  them  a  very  able  defense.  It  has  renewed 
their  courage  to  such  a  degree  that  I  expect  they  will  let  the  law 
remain  long  enough  to  answer  all  the  purposes  of  this  session.  A 
very  extraordinary  degree  of  listlessness  pervades  the  Legislature. 
Everybody  seems  convinced  of  the  impossibility  of  resisting  executive 

(147) 

influence,  or  giving  any  new  direction  to  the  political  machine.  The 
Federalists,  having  lost  all  hope,  and  consequently  having  no  bond 
of  union,  cease  to  act  with  any  degree  of  concert.  I  see  nothing 
which  will  again  unite  them.  They  may  occasionally  show  them 
selves  in  some  of  the  States,  but  in  this  government  they  will  soon 
become  extinct.  It  is  to  be  hoped  an  opposition  will  arise  from 
some  other  quarter,  and  under  another  name,  that  may  restrain 
executive  power  and  influence,  which  in  my  opinion  is  becoming 
really  formidable.  Nothing  else  is  seen  or  felt  here.  At  present 
none  who  have  the  means  wish  to  restrain,  but  wish  to  partici 
pate  in  that  power.  Nothing  seems  to  be  agreed  on  as  to  the  next 
Cabinet.  Crawford,  it  is  said,  wishes  to  be  retained.  If  so,  he 
must  be  gratified  for  a  short  time;  but  the  sins  of  a  competitor  for 
the  diadem  can  never  be  forgotten  or  forgiven.  I  think  it  probable 
Mr.  Monroe  is  inclined  to  make  J.  Q.  Adams  Secretary  of  State,3 
believing  there  is  no  danger  of  finding  in  him  a  dangerous  rival 
four  years  hence.  But  Clay,  with  his  western  people,  will  oppose 
that  project.  If  Adams  is  brought  in  it  will  not  be  with  any  inten 
tion  of  his  final  advancement  to  the  presidency.  I  rather  expect 
he  will  remain  in  his  present  situation,  where  he  seems  in  no  dan 
ger  of  acquiring  too  much  reputation.  Mr.  Coleman  delivered  me 
your  letter.  I  carried  him  to  the  Senate  and  introduced  him  to 
several  of  our  friends.  He  soon  got  into  so  good  company  that  I 
saw  little  of  him.  Mrs.  Mason  and  Mrs.  Webster  continue  to  be 
better  pleased  than  I  expected.  The  weather  has  been  remarkably 
fine,  which  they  improve  in  seeing  the  great  city  and  its  vicinity. 
Mr.  King  has  arrived.  Excepting  a  trifling  cold,  he  is  very  well 

Sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

a  This  was  done,  as  John  Q.  Adams  was  made  Secretary  of  State  by  Presi 
dent  Monroe,  March  5,  1817,  entering  upon  the  duties  of  that  office  September  22, 
1817,  and  continuing  in  that  office  through  Monroe's  second  term  till  1825. 


144  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  CHRISTOPHER  GORE. 

WASHINGTON,  January  25,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  presume  from  your  letter  of  the   llth  that 
you  have  a  very  just  idea  of  our  condition.     On  no  occasion  has 

(148) 

anything  like  a  Federal  opposition  appeared  during  this  session, 
in  either  House.  It  will  never  again  be  seen.  There  is  nothing 
to  sustain  such  an  opposition.  Under  existing  circumstances  I 
doubt  if  such  an  opposition  is  to  be  wished  for.  What  good  can  it 
do?  What  section  of  the  Union,  or  portion  of  the  community, 
would  sustain  a  man,  who  should  now  take  upon  himself  the  labor 
of  exposing  the  grossest  peculation  and  mismanagement?  Riding 
on  the  top  of  the  popular  tide,  the  executive  can  easily  run  down 
any  man  or  any  number  of  men  who  should  make  the  idle  attempt. 
The  people  would  not  believe  the  alleged  abuse  to  exist,  till  com 
pelled  by  the  most  irrefragable  evidence,  when  they  would  probably 
justify  it.  What  then  are  the  men  who  do  not  and  cannot  agree 
to  the  measures  of  government  to  do?  I  think  they  can  do  noth 
ing.  The  preparations  which  I  see  among  the  Federalists  to  make 
their  somersets  excite  neither  pain  nor  displeasure.  Let  those  who 
wish  to  go  pass  over  quietly.  The  most  of  them  will  meet  with  a 
favorable  reception.  Monroe  wants  recruits  for  the  war  of  the  next 
succession,  and  will  smile  on  all  who  come.  His  apprehensions  are 
not  without  foundation.  As  one  opposition  sinks  another  will  rise, 
and  perhaps  with  more  favorable  auspices.  It  is  rumored  that  mur- 
murings  are  already  heard.  Within  a  day  ar  two,  the  report  that 
J.  Q.  Adams  is  to  be  Secretary  of  State  has  gained  more  credit.  I 
have  had  it  from  a  source  that  convinces  me  it  is  seriously  thought 
of.  The  inducement  is  said  to  be  to  lessen  the  jealousy  against 
Virginia,  and  conciliate  New  England.  Some  think  there  is  a 
bona  fide  intention  to  designate  him  for  the  next  presidency,  and 
that  Colonel  Monroe  believes  this  the  best  way  of  securing  his  next 
four  years  term.  Others  suppose  the  only  object  is  to  afford  A.  a 
fair  chance  of  hanging  himself,  which  they  say  he  will  certainly  do 
in  a  short  time.  Mr.  Clay  gives  no  credit  to  the  latter  supposition. 
He  with  all  his  western  friends  are  clamorously  opposed  to  A. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  145 


Crawforda  is  said  to  be  sulky,  and  to  talk  of  retiring.  I  think  better 
of  Mr.  Adams'  prospect  than  I  have  heretofore.  I  do  not  however 
believe  anything  is  yet  determined  on.  No  movement  has  been 

(149) 

made  in  the  Legislature  respecting  the  Massachusetts  Militia  claim. 
I  understand  Messrs.  Lloyd  and  Sumner  are  arranging  the  accounts 
for  executive  examination,  in  hopes  of  getting  a  portion  allowed  on 
the  principles  established  in  favor  of  the  Virginia  claims.  They 
may  get  a  small  pittance  on  that  ground,  but  I  suspect  before  they 
obtain  any  serious  amount,  they  will  find  they  know  nothing  of  the 
true  key  for  construing  the  Virginia  rule. 

Truly  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MISS  MARY  E.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  25,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  MARY, — Your  letters  have  given  us  much  satisfaction, 
especially  since  you  have  abandoned  the  too  laconic  style  of  one  or 
two  of  the  first.  But  I  have  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Webster 
which  gives  me  more  pleasure  than  any  of  yours.  He  says  Dr.  Park 
spoke  in  very  favorable  terms  of  the  progress  you  make  in  your 
studies,  which  I  trust  he  would  not  do  without  your  deserving  it. 

I  have  several  times  endeavored  to  impress  on  your  mind  the 
importance  of  a  zealous  and  assiduous  attention  to  your  studies,  and 
I  shall  think  my  labor  and  pains  amply  rewarded  if  I  can  suppose 
I  have  in  any  degree  contributed  towards  the  attainment  of  this 
object.  I  have  much  confidence  in  your  preceptor.  He  will  afford 
much  aid,  but  the  chief  dependence  must  be  on  your  6wn  exertions. 

An  ill  founded  opinion  has  prevailed  too  extensively  that  liter 
ary  acquirements  do  not  constitute  an  essential  ingredient  in  the 
character  of  an  accomplished  woman.  Fortunately  for  your  sex 
this  foolish  opinion  is  much  less  prevalent  now  than  formerly  in  our 

a  W.  H.  Crawford  (1772-1834),  of  Georgia,  was  born  in  Virginia,  and  was 
a  political  leader  and  made  Secretary  of  War  by  Madison  in  1816,  and  then  by 
Monroe,  in  which  office  he  continued  till  1825.  In  1824,  he  was  the  caucus  nomi 
nee  of  the  Democrats  for  President,  ranking  third  with  Jackson,  Adams,  Craw 
ford  and  Clay.  From  1827  till  his  death  Crawford  was  a  judge  of  the  Northern 
Circuit  Court  of  Georgia. 


146  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


country.  Great  improvements  have  already  taken  place  in  this 
particular  of  female  education.  I  have  no  doubt  they  will  continue 
and  increase,  and  that  the  women  of  the  rising  generation  will  in 
literature  at  least  greatly  excel  their  predecessors.  This  reflection 
must  not  only  excite  a  laudable  ambition  in  a  generous  mind  for 
literary  attainments,  but  impose  a  degree  of  necessity  for  exertion 

(150) 

even  on  the  sluggish  and  ignoble.  For  I  hope  that  ignorance  in  a 
woman  who  has  had  a  convenient  opportunity  for  acquiring  knowl 
edge,  will  soon  be  deemed  as  disgraceful  as  it  is  in  a  man. 

The  only  restraint  on  your  application  to  study  should  be  a  proper 
attention  to  your  health.  This  must  not  be  neglected.  You  must 
allow  a  reasonable  portion  of  time  for  exercise,  recreation,  and  atten 
tion  to  your  person. 

I  wish  you  to  inform  me  what  you  have  studied  since  you  have 
been  at  Boston,  and  state  to  me  also  frankly  how  you  stand  in  com- 
parision  with  others  in  your  class.  Your  mother  joins  me  in  cordial 
love  to  you.  Most  affectionately  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JAMES  J.  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  25,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  JAMES, —  We  have  been  much  gratified  by  regularly 
receiving  your  and  Alfred's  letters  since  we  parted  with  you,  and 
also  by  the  accounts  we  have  had  from  others  of  your  correct  con 
duct.  I  hope  you  are  diligent  in  your  studies,  and  that  I  shall  find 
on  my  return  in  the  spring  that  you  have  made  good  proficiency.  I 
wish  you  to  attend  to  your  handwriting,  in  which  I  am  glad  to  see 
you  have  made  some  progress.  When  you  next  write,  tell  me  what 
you  are  studying,  and  how  long  lessons  you  get.  I  suppose  George 
is  still  with  you,  unless  he  has  gone  to  Amherst.  His  visit  I  trust 
has  been  very  pleasant  both  to  you  and  Alfred.  Your  mother  and 
I  look  forward  with  exceeding  great  pleasure  to  the  time  of  our  re 
turn  home,  when  we  hope  to  have  you  all  together  again  in  health 
and  happiness.  I  trust  that  you  as  well  as  the  rest  of  our  beloved 
children,  will  so  conduct  as  to  merit  our  entire  approbation,  which 


ROBERT   R.   LIVINGSTON, 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  147 


will  greatly  increase  the  pleasure  of  that  happy  meeting. 

Your  affectionate  father,  J.  MASON. 

(151) 

In  August,  1816,  the  following  correspondence  passed  between 
Governor  Plumer  and  Mr.  Mason,  relative  to  a  seat  upon  the  bench 
of  the  superior  (the  highest)  court  of  New  Hampshire. 

WILLIAM  PLUMER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

EPPING,  August  7,  1816. 

DEAR  SIR, — Yesterday  I  received  official  information  that  Mr. 
Upham  declines  accepting  the  office  of  a  justice  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  Judicature.  Another  judge  must  therefore  be  appointed. 
Agreeably  to  your  request  I  give  you  notice  of  the  fact;  and  permit 
me  to  inquire  if  you  are  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  that  court,  will 
you  accept  the  office?  It  has  long  been  my  desire  that  you  should 
have  that  office,  and  I  think  it  will  be  offered  to  you,  provided  I 
have  assurance  you  will  accept  it.  It  is  an  office  worthy  your  am 
bition,  and  one  I  hope  you  will  hold  till  you  are  removed  to  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  How  soon  the 
Council  will  be  convened  is  uncertain ;  but  I  thank  you  for  your 
answer  as  soon  as  convenient. 

And  in  all  events  believe  me  to  be  with  much  respect  and  esteem, 
Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

WILLIAM  PLUMER. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  WILLIAM  PLUMER. 

PORTSMOUTH,  August  18,   1816. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  am  sensible  of  the  honor  you  do  me  by  the  inquiry 
in  your  letter  of  the  7th  inst.  You  ask  whether  if  appointed  I  will 
accept  the  office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Superior  Court.  There  may 
be  an  appearance  of  indelicacy  in  my  stating  any  determination  on 
this  subject  while  there  is  no  vacancy  in  the  office  in  question.  I 
think,  however,  under  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  I  ought  not  to 
be  influenced  by  that  consideration,  but  frankly  to  communicate  at 
your  request  the  result  of  my  reflections. 

(152) 


148  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


Could  I  flatter  myself  with  the  belief  of  possessing  the  necessary 
qualifications,  the  proposed  office  would  certainly  satisfy  my  highest 
ambition.  There  would  however  still  remain  two  objections  which 
seem  to  me  to  be  insuperable. 

The  salary  by  the  present  law  allowed  is  in  my  opinion  wholly 
inadequate.  The  duties  of  the  office  are  very  laborious,  and  the  sit 
uation  highly  responsible.  The  proper  discharge  of  those  duties 
must  necessarily  engross  so  large  a  portion  of  the  whole  time  as  to 
leave  very  little  leisure  for  any  other  employment.  For  such  ardu 
ous  and  constant  labor  in  so  responsible  a  situation  I  cannot  think 
the  present  salary  a  reasonable  compensation. 

My  other  objection  arises  from  the  late  organization  of  that  court. 
Experience  has,  I  think,  demonstrated  that  if  the  three  judges  are 
required  to  be  all  present  at  each  jury  trial  they  can  never  do  the 
business  of  that  court  in  a  manner    satisfactory    to    themselves    or 
beneficial  to  the  public.     For  many  years  past  the  business  has  been 
gradually  increasing,  and  it  will  probably  continue  to  increase  with 
the  increasing  wealth  and  population  of  the  State.     Whoever  shall 
be  the  judges,  I  think  I  hazard  little  in  foretelling  that  under  the 
present  system  the  business  will  accumulate,  and  consequently  be 
delayed  to  a  very  injurious  degree.     Perhaps  there  were  defects  in 
the  plan  lately  abolished  which  needed  a  reTnedy.     But  I  shall  be 
greatly  disappointed  if  the  return  to  the  old  system  in  the  particular 
I  have  mentioned  should  not  be  found  to  be  injurious,  and  a  contin 
uance  in  it  impracticable.     If  the  judges  are  competent  for  their 
places,  I  think  there  can  be  no  danger  in  confiding  to  a  single  judge 
the  power  of  ruling  the  evidence  and  directing  the  course  of  the 
ordinary  trials  by  jury  of  issues  of  fact,  subject  to  certain  exceptions. 
Such  a  practice  prevails  in  most  of  the  United  States,  and  has  been 
attended  with  no  mischief,  as  far  as  I  am  informed.    Wherever  that 
practice  does  not  prevail,  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  have  a  much 
greater  number  of  judges  in  proportion  to  the  business  to  be  done 
than  is  contemplated  by  our  present  system. 

After  thus  stating  the  reasons  which  prevent  my  complying  with 

(153) 

your  proposal,  I  trust  it  is  unnecessary  to  add  that  political  consider- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  149 


ations,  which  in  these  times  are  often  supposed  to  determine  almost 
everything,  have  with  me  on  this  subject  no  influence. 

I  am  with  much  respect,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

J.  MASON. 

(154) 


150  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Mr.  Mason  resigns  his  Seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  —  Letters  to  Mr. 
Gore  and  Mr.  King,  informing  them  of  the  Fact,  and  their  Realies.  —  Letter 
to  Dr.  Appleton  on  the  same  Subject.  —  Portsmouth  in  the  Early  Part  of  this 
Century.  —  Mr.  Mason's  Professional  and  Domestic  Life.  —  The  Dartmouth 
Case. —  Correspondence  to  the  Close  of  the  Year  1818  with  Mr.  Gore,  Mr. 
King,  Mr.  Daggett,  and  Judge  Story. 

IN  June,  1817,  Mr.  Mason  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.     He  has  not  left  on  record  any  statement  of  the 
reasons  which  led  him  to  take  this  step,  but  they  may  be  inferred 
from  the  tone  of  his  letters  in  the  two  preceding  chapters. 

In  the  first  place,  unlike  most  Americans,  and  especially  unlike 
most  American  lawyers,  he  had  no  political  ambition.  Public  office 
had  no  charms  for  him,  and  professional  occupation  was  far  more 
to  his  taste  than  political.  Popular  applause  he  neither  sought  nor 
cared  for,  nor  had  he  that  cheap  accomplishment  of  popular  elo 
quence  by  which  such  applause  is  most  easily  won.  He  spoke 
wisely,  weightily,  and  logically ;  he  addressed  the  reason  and  the 
conscience  of  his  hearers;  but  what  he  said  was  not  commended 
by  any  aid  of  voice,  eye,  or  gesture.  He  had  none  of  the  external 
graces  of  oratory ;  his  manner  was  simple  and  unimpassioned,  and 
his  tone  conversational.  His  powerful  mind  and  masculine  taste 
would  have  disdained  the  triumphs  secured  by  an  appeal  to  the  pas 
sions  or  prejudices  of  those  whom  he  addressed.  Thus  his  love  of 
his  profession,  and  his  indifference  to  public  life,  conspired  to  make 
his  place  in  the  Senate  distasteful  to  him. 

(155) 

But  more  powerful  than  any  other  motive  was  his  unwillingness 
to  continue  the  sacrifice  he  was  obliged  to  make  in  being  so  long 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  151 


absent  from  his  family.  His  domestic  affections  were  very  strong, 
and  all  his  hours  not  given  to  his  profession,  were  spent  at  home. 
For  the  rest  and  refreshment  which  a  hard-working  lawyer  so  much 
needs  he  was  peculiarly  dependent  upon  his  family.  When  absent 
from  them  in  Washington,  he  had  no  resource  for  his  lonely  even 
ings  but  the  solitary  pleasure  of  reading.  For  the  questionable 
amusements  to  which  members  of  Congress  sometimes  resort  for 
pastime  he  had  no  taste,  even  if  his  strict  New  England  training 
had  allowed  him  to  look  upon  them  as  innocent.  His  letters  are 
full  of  expressions  of  the  longing  he  felt  to  be  at  home  with  his  wife 
and  children,  and  of  the  sacrifice  he  was  making  in  living  away 
from  them. 

He  felt  too  that  a  numerous  family  of  young  children  had  claims 
upon  him  paramount  to  all  others,  both  to  secure  for  them  a  pro 
vision  against  want  in  case  of  his  death,  and  to  give  his  constant 
care  to  the  training  of  their  minds  and  characters. 

The  situation  of  the  country  left  him  at  liberty  to  obey  the  strong 
impulse  which  called  him  home.  Its  youthful  energies  and  bound 
less  resources  were  already  beginning  to  repair  the  waste  of  the 
war.  The  burden  of  taxation  had  been  lightened,  commerce  revived, 
manufacturers  were  quickened,  and  Mr.  Crawford,  who  was  appoint 
ed  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  October,  1816,  had  been  able,  in  his 
report  at  the  meeting  of  the  second  session  of  the  Fourteenth  Con 
gress,  to  give  a  hopeful  view  of  the  finances  of  the  country. 

And  now  that  the  war  was  over,  the  bitterness  of  political  feeling 
which  had  grown  out  of  the  war  and  the  measures  which  had  led 
to  it  had  much  abated.  The  Federalists,  a  party  decreasing  in  in 
fluence  and  numbers,  had  acquiesced  in  the  election  of  Mr.  Mon 
roe,  a  man  of  moderate  talents  and  moderate  temper,  who  made 
neither  earnest  partisans  nor  vehement  opponents.  Most  men  were 
ready  to  bury  the  hatchet  of  political  strife ;  and  a  man  of  Mr.  Mason's 

(156) 

political  sagacity  could  not  fail  to  see  that  the  old  party  lines  were  in 
a  fair  way  to  be  erased,  and  that  new  issues  would  make  new  divi 
sions  of  the  future. 

Mr.  Mason,  upon  resigning  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  wrote  to  his 
friends,  Mr.  Gore,  Mr.  King,  and  Dr.  Appleton,  informing  them  of 


152  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


the  step  he  had  taken.     His  letters,  and  the  replies  of  Mr.  Gore  and 
Mr.  King,  are  here  given. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  CHRISTOPHER  GORE. 

PORTSMOUTH,  June  18,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  just  resigned  my  seat  in  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States.  For  a  considerable  time  past  I  have  contem 
plated  doing  this.  I  have  many  reasons  for  staying  at  home,  and 
very  few  for  going  to  Washington.  Among  the  circumstances  which 
have  lessened  my  inducements  to  retain  my  seat  in  the  Senate,  your 
resignation  is  not  the  least.  I  certainly  do  not  regret  having  spent 
so  considerable  a  portion  of  four  years  in  that  station.  I  am  not 
vain  enough  to  console  myself  with  an  idea  that  my  labors  have 
been  of  any  special  advantage  to  the  country.  But  the  time  has 
not  been  spent  without  advantage  to  myself.  It  has  afforded  me 
the  opportunity,  which  I  should  otherwise  never  have  enjoyed,  of 
knowing  some  of  the  greatest  and  best  men  in  our  country.  And 
I  have  the  consolation  of  hoping  that  in  a  few  instances  I  have  been 
so  fortunate  as  to  attract  their  kind  regards.  I  have  also  had  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  the  tricks  and  cunning  contrivances  by  which 
the  nation  has  been,  and  I  suppose  for  a  long  time  will  continue  to 
be  governed.  These  can  never  be  well  understood  without  the  ad 
vantage  of  a  situation  from  which  one  can  see  the  master  jugglers 
manage  their  puppets. 

I  fear  the  good  people  of  Boston  will  kill  the  President  with 
kindness.  I  am,  however,  on  the  whole,  glad  to  see  them  taking 
that  turn.  They  have  certainly  derived  no  benefit  from  pursuing 

(157) 

an  opposite  course.1  No  one  can  foretell  what  this  will  produce; 
but  I  do  not  believe  the  Federalists,  or  quasi-Federalists,  have  any 
thing  to  expect  from  Colonel  Monroe.  When  I  saw  you  a  few 
moments  in  Boston  last  spring,  you  told  me  it  was  possible  that  in 
some  excursion  in  the  course  of  the  summer  you  might  take  Ports- 
president  Monroe,  who  made  an  extended  tour  through  the  country  in  the 
summer  of  1817,  was  in  Boston  at  the  date  of  this  letter. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  153 

mouth  in  your  way.    I  wish  you  would  say  it  was  probable. 

I  am  sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

CHRISTOPHER  GORE  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WALTHAM,  June  22,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  duly  received  your  letter  of  the  18th  mention 
ing  that  you  had  resigned  your  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States.  On  public  grounds  I  am  concerned.  No  one  more  quickly 
discerns  the  weakness  and  wickedness  of  bad  measures,  and  none 
more  thoroughly  exposed  them,  and  in  many  instances  you  succeed 
ed  in  defeating  their  schemes  or  in  rendering  them  less  obnoxious. 
I  am  sorry  also  for  our  friend  King's  sake,  who  will  be  altogether 
alone 

For  your  own  gratification  you  have,  I  entertain  no  doubt,  re 
mained  as  long  as  was  desirable.  The  inconvenience  in  going  and  re 
turning,  the  comfortlessness  of  Washington,  and  the  privations  of 
so  many  enjoyments  in  being  from  home  were,  and  must  have  con 
tinued  to  be,  great  sacrifices.  I  rejoice  that  you  were  there  while  I 
held  a  seat,  and  should  be  extremely  delighted,  if  it  were  for  your 
interest  and  happiness  to  live  in  my  neighborhood,  that  once  in  a 
few  weeks  I  might  exchange  thoughts  with  you  on  the  passing  events. 
I  despair  of  ever  being  able  to  go  so  many  miles  from  home ;  were 
I  able,  I  would  visit  you  and  yours  with  great  satisfaction. 

The  Boston  folks  are  making  great  efforts  to  show  their  respect 
for  the  new  President.  It  has  been  a  question  who  should  evince 

(158) 

most  devotion,  the  Federalist  or  Democrat.  The  former  appears  to 
have  got  the  start  in  the  race.  The  military  will  escort  him ;  all  the 
citizens  are  to  attend  on  the  way  in  carriages  and  on  horseback,  and 
finally  he  is  to  be  shown  all  the  boys  of  Boston  on  our  Common. 
If  he  does  not  meet  us  with  due  respect  after  all  this,  and  illustrate 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  leaders  either  by  knighting  them, 
or  sending  them  to  represent  the  dignity  of  the  United  States  in 
China  or  England,  he  must  be  lost  to  all  sense  of  gratitude  as  well 
as  of  public  good.  My  want  of  health  will  prevent  me  from  paying 
my  personal  respects  to  the  President.  I  am  confined  to  my  own 


154  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


fields  and  my  own  furrows,  which  are  looking  well,  but  here  are 
neither  the  weeds  of  ambition  nor  avarice.  If  I  had  tolerable  health 
and  limbs,  I  could  pass  the  remnant  of  my  days  in  cheerfulness; 
as  it  is,  I  endeavor  to  go  on  tranquilly  and  without  repining.  My 
wife  enjoys  very  passable  health,  and  unites  with  me  in  affectionate 
regards  to  Mrs.  Mason  and  yourself.  Farewell. 

Your  faithful  friend,  C.  GORE. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  June  26,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  resigned  my  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  I  had  contemplated  it  for  some  time,  as  I  mentioned 
to  you  last  winter.  It  was  my  intention  to  have  postponed  my  resig 
nation  till  next  fall,  and  so  retain  the  power  of  altering  my  deter 
mination  should  I  see  reason.  But  as  that  would  have  carried  the 
appointment  of  my  successor  from  the  Legislature  to  the  Governor, 
which  I  did  not  wish  to  do,  and  as  I  saw  no  probability  of  any 
change  of  opinion,  I  thought  it  best  to  resign  at  the  present  time. 
For  staying  at  home  I  have  many  inducements;  but  for  going  to 
Washington  none,  except  the  pleasure  and  advantage  of  being  with 
you.  I  do  not  see  that  the  public  have  any  manner  of  concern  in 
this  matter.  I  have  not  vanity  enough  to  flatter  myself  with  the 
notion  of  having  done  the  public  any  good  while  I  have  been  in 

(159) 

the  Senate,  nor  do  I  see  any  probability  that  I  could  if  I  remained 
there  longer. 

I  do  not  regret,  however,  having  spent  so  considerable  a  portion 
of  time  in  that  situation.  It  has  been  of  great  advantage  to  me. 
It  has  afforded  me  the  means  of  seeing,  and  in  some  measure  un 
derstanding,  the  tricks  and  cunning  management  by  which  the  na 
tion  has  been  and  probably  will  for  a  long  time  continue  to  be 
governed.  And  what  is  much  better,  it  has  also  afforded  the  op 
portunity,  which  I  should  otherwise  never  have  enjoyed,  of  cultivat 
ing  the  acquaintance  and  (I  trust  I  may  add)  the  favorable  regards 
of  some  of  the  greatest  and  best  men  our  country  has  ever  possessed. 
I  shall  always  consider  the  having  acted  with  you  on  some  important 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  155 


occasions,  as  constituting  the  most  fortunate  and  gratifying  events 
of  my  life.  And  be  assured,  my  dear  sir,  I  shall  hold  in  grateful 
remembrance  the  uniformly  kind  treatment  I  have  always  experi 
enced  from  you. 

I  shall  apply  myself  to  my  professional  pursuits,  and  seek  for 
happiness  in  domestic  enjoyments.  The  education  of  my  children, 
which  is  certainly  the  first  and  most  important  duty  of  a  parent, 
will  of  itself  for  a  long  time  afford  me  much  employment. 

I  understand  the  Boston  folks  are  making  unexampled  prepara 
tions  for  the  reception  of  Mr.  Monroe.  The  intent  is  to  work  out 
the  stain  of  the  Hartford  Convention  and  their  other  rebellions.  I 
do  not  believe  it  will  answer  the  purpose  intended.  We  here,  being 
suspected  of  no  disloyalty,  shall  make  no  extraordinary  exertions. 

I  was  informed  a  few  days  ago  from  Boston  that  Hunter  had 
lately  sailed  for  England.  It  was  intimated  he  might  be  in  govern 
ment  employ.  I  think  that  cannot  be.  If  so  you  must  of  course 
know,  as  it  was  well  understood  at  Washington,  that  the  President 
was  to  do  nothing  without  your  privity  and  advice.  Mrs.  Mason 
joins  me  in  affectionate  regards  to  Mrs.  King. 

I  am  with  the  highest  respect, 

Faithfully  yours,  J.  MASON. 

(160) 
RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JAMAICA,  L.  I.,  July  4,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Accept  my  acknowledgments  for  the  very 
obliging  letter  which  you  have  written  to  me.  I  was  sorry  to  see  it 
announced  that  you  had  resigned  your  seat  in  the  Senate.  To  the 
force  of  some  of  the  motives  that  have  influenced  you  on  this  occa 
sion  I  am  not  insensible ;  but  that  you  have  done  no  good,  and  think 
it  doubtful  whether  you  should  be  able  to  do  any,  by  continuing  in 
the  Senate,  I  am  not  willing  to  admit  or  to  believe.  On  the  contrary, 
for  maxims  of  government,  principles  of  administration,  and  views 
of  general  policy,  the  observance  of  which  cannot  fail  to  promote 
the  public  welfare,  I  am  quite  sure  that  our  colleagues  and  country 
owe  us  something. 


156  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


It  is  true  that  we  have  had  to  contend  with  prejudices  constantly 
working  against  us,  and  jealousies,  that  caused  individuals  to  vote 
in  opposition  to  us,  as  well  as  to  their  own  convictions.  These  are 
discouraging  circumstances,  especially  as  they  seem  to  be  insepara 
ble  from  our  political  system;  which,  although  less  conducive  than 
might  be  desired  to  the  greater  prevalence  of  exact  justice,  is  never 
theless  fitted  to  our  condition,  and,  as  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  more 
certain  to  promote  our  progress  in  wealth  and  strength  than  any 
other  political  arrangement. 

The  President  by  this  time  must  be  at  Boston,  where,  as  you 
conjecture,  there  will  doubtless  be  performed  some  works  of  super 
erogation.  With  our  reformed  notions  we  should  not  place  much 
reliance  upon  the  efficacy  of  these  over  zealous  deeds.  According 
to  my  interpretation  of  motives,  and  of  the  conduct  of  the  President 
at  Philadelphia  and  amongst  us,  he  will  apparently  receive  in  good 
part  whatever  is  offered  by  way  of  respect.  But  here,  as  also  at  Phil 
adelphia,  the  exclusives  have  manifested  some  little  jealousy  and 
displeasure;  and  if  the  extraordinary  demonstrations  of  attachment, 
respect,  and  confidence  that  may  be  exhibited  at  Boston  should  be  re 
ciprocated  by  the  President,  I  should  not  be  (161)  surprised  if  the 
same  produce  an  equivalent  coolness  and  disaffection  amongst  old 
friends  and  partisans.  There  are  more  than  one  or  two  aspirants 
carefully  watching  and  weighing  all  that  occurs,  or  is  omitted,  in 
the  course  of  this  Presidential  journey. 

I  went  to  town  on  the  day  of  the  President's  arrival  to  offer  my 
respects.  He  received  me,  as  he  received  others,  in  an  obliging  man 
ner;  asked  me  to  dine  with  him,  which  I  did.  I  invited  him  to 
come  and  dine  with  me.  He  would  if  he  could ;  by  which  I  under 
stood  that  he  would  not,  as  he  did  not.  I  was  invited  to  accompany 
the  President  to  West  Point,  which  I  did  not.  He  asked  me  to 
meet  him  at  the  fortifications  at  the  west  end  of  this  island.  I  met 
him  there,  and  went  with  him  to  Sandy  Hook.  The  President 
came  down  to  the  fortifications  in  the  steam  frigate,  which  had  been 
undocked  and  prepared  for  this  service.  Although  manned  with  a 
numerous  and  skillful  crew,  and  the  distance  only  ten  miles,  it  was 
four  o'clock  p.  M.  before  the  frigate  arrived  at  the  fortifications, 
demonstrating  in  this  experiment  the  entire  failure  of  this  expen- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  157 


sive  project  as  a  moving  battery.  With  the  most  careful  attention 
and  management,  they  were  unable  to  force  the  frigate  through  the 
water,  at  a  rate  which  would  have  enabled  her  to  move  to  attack,  or 
to  escape  from,  an  enemy.  In  the  course  of  the  night  she  returned 
to  the  dock.  The  President  remained  with  the  Vice  President  on 
Staten  Island;  and  the  Connecticut  steamboat  came  down  the  fol 
lowing  morning  to  carry  him  to  Sandy  Hook.  During  this  expe 
dition  he  spoke  to  me  freely  on  several  public  topics,  leading  always 
in  their  relation.  He  also  spoke  of  his  tour,  and  the  considerations 
that  have  engaged  him  to  make  it ;  but  his  observations  were  general 
in  their  nature,  and  such  as  cover  and  conceal  details  and  therefore 
are  little  satisfactory.  I  however  perceive  no  reason  to  alter  my 
conjecture  concerning  the  present  administration.  The  chief  must 
be  influenced  by  the  changes  which  from  time  to  time  occur.  I  an 
ticipate  little  harmony  or  decision  of  character  in  his  cabinet. 

The  office  of  Secretary  at  War  is  yet  vacant;  it  has  been  offered 
and  refused  by  Lowndes  since  the  refusal  of  Shelby.  Harrison  is 

(162) 

anxious  to  obtain  it,  and  for  want  of  a  better  in  the  line  assigned 
for  the  choice  may  perhaps  obtain  it,  though  I  doubt  his  success. 

Of  the  foreign  concerns  I  have  heard  nothing  since  we  parted. 
Who  is  to  succeed  Mr.  Adams,  whether  Rush,  Pinckney,  or  Derby, 
I  cannot  inform  you ;  so  that  you  see,  notwithstanding  your  informa 
tion,  I  am  not  let  into  all  the  secrets. 

As  the  President  will  visit  Portsmouth,  perhaps  something  may 
leak  out  worth  telling.  In  this  case  don't  be  over  prudent;  I  can 
keep  your  secret.  Swift  accompanies  the  President.  Perhaps  he 
may  again  make  you  his  confidant;  he  appears  now  equally  assidu 
ous  as  he  manifested  formerly  an  inclination  to  be,  in  the  anticipa 
tion  of  a  different  order  of  men  and  things.  By  the  by,  the  ci  devant 
Secretary  at  War  made  me  a  short  visit  some  weeks  ago.  With 
regards,  in  which  Mrs.  K.  unites,  to  Mrs.  Mason,  I  am  and  shall 
always  be  with  great  regard  and  respect, 

Dear  Sir,  your  obedient  and  faithful  servant, 

RUFUS  KING. 


158  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  THE  REV.  JESSE  APPLETON,  D.  D. 

PORTSMOUTH,  July  3,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  You  have  probably  seen  that  I  have  resigned  my 
seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  I  had  contemplated  doing 
it  for  some  time.  I  have  many  reasons  for  staying  at  home,  and  very 
few  for  going  to  Washington. 

The  President  is  expected  here  some  time  next  week,  if  the  Bos 
ton  folks  do  not  kill  him  with  kindness.1  I  will  then  ascertain  and 
inform  you  whether  he  intends  to  extend  his  tour  far  enough  to  see 
you.  I  was  told  a  few  days  ago,  by  a  gentleman  who  conversed 
with  him  on  the  subject  before  he  left  (Washington,  that  he  then 
intended  to  go  no  further  than  Portland.  Perhaps  he  may  be  so 

(163) 

much  gratified  with  the  attentions   of  his  liege   subjects   in  these 
parts  that  he  may  alter  his  determination. 

As  to  your  other  inquiry  in  relation  to  his  title  or  address,  you 
have  probably  seen  it  learnedly  discussed  in  the  newspapers.  In 
conversation  with  the  President  I  believe  it  has  not  been  customary 
to  give  him  any  title.  The  late  President  was  always,  in  conversa 
tion  with  him,  called  Mr.  Madison;  in  notes,  etc.,  addressed  to  him, 
"The  President  of  the  United  States,"  at  least  this  was  the  case  as 
far  as  I  know.  In  haste,  yours,  J.  MASON. 

After  resigning  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  Mr.  Mason  resumed  the 
professional  and  social  life  which  had  been  partially  interrupted  by 
his  public  service  in  Washington.  As  this  life  continued  in  a  uni 
form  course  till  his  removal  to  Boston  in  1832,  it  may  be  well  to 
sketch  it  a  little  more  fully  than  has  before  been  done. 

Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  where  Mr.  Mason  so  long  lived, 
and  where  all  his  children  were  born,  is  to-day  a  cheerful  town  to  a 
stranger's  eye,  and  they  whose  lot  is  cast  there  find  it  a  pleasant 
place  to  live  in.  It  is  situated  on  a  beautiful  peninsula  on  the  south 
side  of  Piscataqua  River,  with  a  noble  harbor,  which  is  never  frozen 
even  in  the  severest  winters,  owing  to  the  great  rise  and  fall  of  the 
tide,  the  narrowness  of  the  channel,  and  the  consequent  rapidity  of 

President  Monroe  visited  Portsmouth  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  and  by  a 
vote  of  the  citizens  was  received  and  addressed  by  Mr.  Mason,  who  also  enter 
tained  him  at  dinner  at  his  house. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  159 


the  current.  The  region  around  it,  from  its  happy  blending  of  land 
and  water,  has  much  and  varied  beauty.  The  town  abounds  with 
signs  of  past  prosperity,  especially  with  those  spacious,  wooden 
houses  which  prosperous  men  in  New  England  were  so  fond  of  build 
ing  in  former  days,  suggesting  good  incomes  and  large  families. 

In  1797,  when  Mr.  Mason  went  to  Portsmouth  to  live,  it  was  rela 
tively  a  place  of  more  importance  than  now.  Its  chief  sources  of 
prosperity  were  shipbuilding,  for  which  it  had  peculiar  facilities  in 
its  noble  harbor  and  its  proximity  to  extensive  forests,  and  the  car 
rying  trade.  For  both  of  which  it  was  mainly  indebted  to  the  wars 
of  the  French  Revolution  which  were  desolating  Europe.  It  had 
many  prosperous  and  enterprising  merchants,  and  an  active,  thrifty, 

(164) 

and  energetic  population.  Its  ships  were  known  in  every  clime,  and 
the  commerce  which  enriched  it  gave  an  improved  tone  to  the  man 
ners  and  social  habits  of  its  inhabitants. 

Mr.  Mason  hesitated  for  some  time  between  Boston  and  Ports 
mouth  as  a  place  of  residence,  and  among  the  reasons  which  led 
him  to  make  choice  of  the  latter  was  the  belief,  which  many  enter 
tained,  strange  as  it  may  now  seem,  that  the  future  progress  and 
prosperity  of  Portsmouth  were  more  assured  than  those  of  Boston. 

Portsmouth  was  also  at  that  time  a  place  of  more  than  common 
social  attractions.  Even  before  the  Revolution,  in  the  days  of  wigs, 
cocked  hats,  and  flowered  waistcoats,  it  was  the  residence  of  many 
cultivated  families,  and  the  seat  of  a  generous  hospitality ;  and  at 
the  close  of  the  last  century  its  old  character  remained,  indeed  made 
more  marked  by  the  wealth  which  commerce  had  poured  into  its 
lap.  The  Marquis  of  Chastellux,  who  was  there  in  1782,  speaks  of 
seeing  handsome  women  elegantly  dressed,  of  dinners  and  suppers, 
and  of  fine  houses  richly  furnished;  and  making  all  due  allowances 
for  the  rose-colored  atmosphere  through  which  a  French  nobleman 
may  have  been  supposed  to  observe  everything,  enough  remains  to 
show  that  there  must  have  been  then  an  easy,  agreeable,  and  some 
what  refined  society. 

In  those  days  travelling  was  slow,  difficult,  and  expensive.  A 
journey  from  Portsmouth  to  Boston  was  quite  as  formidable,  to  say 
the  least,  as  a  journey  to  Washington  is  now.  For  society  the  in 
habitants  of  towns  in  New  England  were  dependent  mainly  upon 


160  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


themselves,  and  thus  the  ties  of  social  life  were  more  closely  drawn 
than  now.  And  then  men  were  not  so  busy,  and  time  was  not  so 
precious,  as  now.  Books,  newspapers,  and  magazines  were  compar 
atively  rare  and  thus  men  and  women  read  less  or  fewer  books,  but 
they  talked  more,  and  their  letters  were  longer  and  more  elaborate. 
Cheap  postage  has  spoiled  letter  writing.  Much  time  was  spent  in 
social  visits  on  an  easy  and  not  expensive  footing.  The  elaborate 
dinner  of  modern  times  was  unfrequent,  but  tea  parties  and  supper 
parties  —  the  latter  beginning  very  little  later  than  the  fashionable 

(165) 

hour  for  dinner  parties  to-day  —  were  common.  The  gentlemen 
had  their  clubs  and  exclusive  social  gatherings,  which  were  convivial 
in  their  character,  sometimes  too  convivial ;  and  occasionally  a  youth 
of  promise  fell  a  victim  to  the  temptations  of  a  mistaken  hospitality. 

In  one  respect  social  life  in  New  England  has  improved  since  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century.  The  vice  of  gaming  was  more 
common  among  respectable  people  then  than  it  is  now.  This  is 
not  because  we  are  more  virtuous  than  our  fathers,  but  because  the 
craving  for  excitement  which  leads  to  gaming  can  now  find  many 
forms  of  gratifying  itself  which  were  then  unknown. 

By  the  cultivated  and  agreeable  society  of  Portsmouth  Mr.  Mason 
was  warmly  welcomed,  and  his  own  nature  was  social  enough  to 
enjoy  the  attentions  which  were  extended  to  him.  But  it  soon  ap 
peared  that  his  profession  was  an  interest  paramount  to  all  others, 
and  that  no  social  claims  were  ever  allowed  to  interfere  with  those 
of  his  clients.  Self  interest  is  ever  quick-sighted,  and  the  active 
men  of  business  in  Portsmouth  soon  found  out  that  every  trust 
committed  to  his  professional  charge  was  faithfully,  ably,  and 
promptly  discharged.  He  was  not  only  diligent  in  business  and 
successful  in  litigated  cases,  but  he  was  uniformly  prompt  in  paying 
to  his  clients  the  money  he  had  collected  for  them.  This  seems  but 
common  honesty,  and  not  worthy  of  special  commendation,  but  in 
those  days  it  was  by  no  means  a  uniform  rule  among  the  members 
of  the  bar.  Money  was  in  great  demand  and  could  be  turned  to 
good  use;  and  thus  lawyers  were  tempted  to  keep  what  belonged  to 
their  clients  -in  their  own  hands  as  long  as  possible,  and  employ  it 
to  their  own  advantage  by  loan  or  investment.  His  charges  were 
moderate,  even  when  tried  by  the  modest  standard  of  that  period. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  161 


And  thus  from  all  these  causes  his  business  rapidly  increased,  as  he 
was  always  gaining  new  clients  and  never  losing  old  ones. 

Upon  his  marriage,  Mr.  Mason  went  immediately  to  housekeep 
ing,  for  the  bad  practice  of  putting  young  wives  into  hotels  and 
boarding-houses  was  not  known  in  those  days.  He  lived  for  some 
time  in  a  hired  house  in  the  compact  part  of  Portsmouth,  but  as  an  in 
creasing  (166)  family  and  the  growing  claims  of  society  and  hospitali 
ty  required  larger  accommodation,  and  an  assured  income  justified  the 
outlay,  in  1802  he  built  for  himself  a  large  and  handsome  house,  upon 
a  fine  and  elevated  site  a  little  out  of  the  business  part  of  the  town. 
Attached  to  the  house  were  extensive  grounds,  including  a  garden, 
laid  out  with  taste,  and  planted  with  fruit  and  ornamental  trees. 
In  the  care  of  his  grounds,  and  the  cultivation  of  his  garden  he  spent 
much  time  and  took  much  interest.1 

In  this  hous«  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mason  spent  thirty  happy  and  pros 
perous  years,  surrounded  by  their  children,  and  in  the  exercise  of  a 
generous  hospitality.  Friends  and  relatives  were  constantly  under 
their  roof  as  guests,  sometimes  for  long  periods. 

Mr.  Mason's  position  at  the  bar  at  the  time  of  his  election  to  the 
Senate,  was  so  high  and  assured  that  his  four  years  of  public  service 
entailed  no  further  loss  of  business  than  that  which  was  caused  by 
his  absence  from  his  clients;  and  immediately  upon  his  return  he 
found  himself  in  full  professional  employment  once  more  and  with 
a  cloud  of  clients  around  him. 

In  1817  his  family  consisted  of  eight  children ;  five  sons  and  three 
daughters,  of  ages  ranging  from  seventeen  to  two  years;  and  it  is 
at  this  period,  or  a  little  earlier,  that  his  surviving  children's  recol 
lection  of  their  father  begins. 

His  way  of  life  was  uniform  and  regular.  His  working-day  al 
ways  began  very  early ;  and  for  many  years,  during  the  winter  season 
at  least,  he  was  wont  to  breakfast  alone,  before  his  family  had  ap 
peared,  in  order  that  he  might  be  in  his  office  at  a  seasonable  hour 
and  before  the  daily  stream  of  business  had  set  in.  He  dined  in  the 

1  Mr.  Webster,  writing  to  Mr.  Ticknor  from  Lowther  Castle,  in  England, 
August  21,  1839,  says:  "You  know  all  about  Lowther  Castle;  one  may  safely  say 
of  it  what  Mr.  Mason  said  of  his  house  in  Portsmouth,  that  it  is  a  comfortable 
shelter  against  the  weather!" 

(167) 


162  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


middle  of  the  day,  as  was  then  the  general  custom  of  New  England, 
and  went  back  to  his  office  in  the  afternoon.  But  his  evenings  were 
always  spent  with  his  family  at  home,  and  only  an  imperative  en 
gagement  could  induce  him  to  depart  from  this  rule. 

His  extensive  practice  required  him  to  make  frequent  journeys, 
and  to  spend  much  time  away  from  home.  He  regularly  attended 
the  sessions  of  the  courts  at  Concord,  the  capital  of  the  State,  and 
at  the  shire  towns  of  all  the  counties  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ports 
mouth.  He  was  sometimes  called  on  professional  duty  to  Newbury- 
port,  Portland,  Wiscasset,  Salem,  and  Boston. 

These  journeys  he  generally  made  in  his  own  carriage,  —  a  chaise 
in  summer  and  a  sleigh  in  winter,  —  and  as  courts  of  justice  wait  for 
no  man,  neither  heat  nor  cold  nor  storm  could  delay  his  departure 
at  the  appointed  time.  The  surviving  members  of  his  family  well 
remember  the  preparations  for  these  journeys  in  the  bitter  cold  of  a 
New  Hampshire  winter:  the  shawls,  coats,  cloaks,  and  blankets  that 
were  put  in  requisition  for  warmth  and  protection.  But  Mr.  Mason's 
frame  was  robust  and  his  constitution  vigorous ;  and  during  his  long 
practice  he  very  rarely  lost  a  day,  or  failed  to  keep  an  appointment, 
by  reason  of  illness.  But  it  was  his  habit,  wherever  he  might  be 
during  the  week,  to  pass  the  Sunday  with  his  family.  This  was  a 
pleasure  to  which  his  children  looked  forward  with  confident  expec 
tation,  and  they  were  rarely  disappointed. 

Mr.  Mason,  upon  his  return  from  Washington,  became  much  en 
gaged  in  the  celebrated  case  of  Dartmouth  College  v.  Woodward, 
so  well  known  in  the  professional  and  constitutional  history  of  the 
country.  The  College  derived  its  corporate  existence  from  a  charter 
of  the  crown  in  1769,  appointing  Dr.  Eleazer  Wheelock  president, 
devolving  the  government  upon  him  and  eleven  other  persons  named 
trustees,  who  were  also  empowered  to  fill  vacancies  in  their  own 
body. 

Under  this  charter  the  College  had  lived  and  flourished  for  nearly 
half  a  century,  and  its  corporate  rights  had  never  been  called  in 
question.  But  clouds  of  opposition  began  at  length  to  muster  in 
the  heavens.  It  was  hardly  possible  that  the  chief  literary  institu 
tion  of  the  State  should  help  being  drawn  into  the  political  strife 
so  hotly  waged  between  the  two  great  parties  which  divided  the 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  163 


country.     At  any  rate,  the  College  and  its  officers  had  incurred  the 

(168) 

ill  will  of  the  Republican  party.  Mr.  Barstow,  the  Republican  his 
torian  of  New  Hampshire,  thus  puts  the  case  in  defense  of  the  Legis 
lative  action  of  the  state:  "The  trustees  of  Dartmouth  College  (so 
called  from  the  name  of  its  founder  and  patron,  the  Earl  of  Dart 
mouth),  had  for  a  considerable  time  pursued  a  course  calculated  to 
render  them  unpopular  with  a  majority  of  the  people.  Possessing, 
under  their  charter  from  George  III.,  the  power  of  removing  mem 
bers  of  their  board  and  appointing  their  own  successors,  they  had 
confided  the  exclusive  control  of  an  institution  designed  for  the 
common  benefit  to  members  of  a  single  religious  sect  and  a  single 
religious  party.  Funds  bequeathed  to  the  College  for  the  establish 
ment  of  a  professorship  had  been  applied  to  purposes  partaking  of 
a  sectarian  character.  John  Wheelock,  himself  a  liberal  benefactor 
of  the  College,  and  the  son  of  its  illustrious  founder,  had  been  re 
moved  by  a  summary  exercise  of  the  powers  of  the  trustees,  and  a 
man  more  subservient  to  their  views  appointed  in  his  place.'* 

It  is  not  necessary  to  inquire  how  far  these  charges  were  true ;  or 
to  state  any  facts  and  considerations  in  defense  of  the  action  of  the 
trustees;  the  passage  is  quoted  simply  as  one  would  cite  an  author 
ity,  or  refer  to  the  statement  of  a  witness,  in  the  argument  of  a  suit 
at  law. 

The  Republican  party  having  carried  the  State  in  the  spring 
election  of  1816,  no  time  was  lost  in  applying  the  hand  of  so-called 
reform  to  the  College.  At  the  opening  of  the  June  session  of  the 
Legislature  Governor  Plumer  called  their  attention  to  the  subject  in 
his  message,  denouncing  the  charter  as  "hostile  to  the  spirit  and 
genius  of  a  free  government,"  recommending  a  radical  change  in  its 
constitution  and  government,  and  enforcing  his  recommendations 
by  that  specious  pretext  of  the  public  good  which  is  always  sum 
moned  in  defense  of  a  political  majority  which  has  resolved  to  invade 
rights  of  property. 

The  views  of  the  Executive  received  the  sympathy  and  support  of 
the  Legislature;  and  on  the  27th  of  June,  1816,  an  act  was  passed 
giving  to  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  complete  jurisdiction  over 

22  (169) 

—12 


164  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


the  College,  enlarging  the  number  of  trustees  to  twenty-one,  and 
changing  its  name  to  Dartmouth  University.  Subsequent  acts  were 
passed  in  the  same  spirit  to  enforce  the  authority  of  the  State,  and 
neutralize  the  resistance  of  the  trustees,  who  refused  to  submit  to  the 
law,  declaring  it  dangerous  to  the  best  interests  of  society;  that  it 
subjected  the  College  to  the  arbitrary  will  and  pleasure  of  the  Legis 
lature;  that  it  contained  palpable  violations  of  their  rights,  and  was 
unconstitutional. 

The  Legislature  persisted,  and  by  their  help  two  of  the  original 
board  of  trustees,  together  with  the  nine  who  had  received  their 
appointments  from  the  Executive  of  the  State,  constituting  a  major 
ity  of  the  whole  number,  met  at  Hanover,  reappointed  John  Whee- 
lock  to  the  presidency,  and  elected  William  H.  Woodward  treasurer 
of  the  University. 

But  three  fourths  of  the  old  board  of  trustees  refused  to  obey  the 
law,  or  surrender  the  property  of  the  corporation ;  and  under  their 
direction,  the  officers  of  the  old  College,  retaining  a  large  majority 
of  the  students,  continued  their  former  course  of  instruction  in 
apartments  procured  for  the  purpose,  the  college  buildings  t>eing  in 
possession  of  the  trustees  of  the  nefw  University.  Thus  there  was 
presented  in  the  small  village  of  Hanover  the  strange  and  unseemly 
spectacle  of  two  institutions  of  learning  struggling  for  the  possession 
of  the  same  property,  and  in  fierce  hostility  to  each  other  —  a  state  of 
things  fatal  to  the  usefulness  of  both,  and  equally  so  to  the  interests 
of  literature  and  education  in  New  Hampshire. 

As  might  be  expected,  every  man  of  influence  in  the  State  took 
part  with  one  side  or  the  other,  and  both  parties  appealed  to  the 
public  in  pamphlets  and  newspaper  communications;  and  as  an  in 
fusion  of  theology  never  tends  to  sweeten  political  discussion,  the 
controversy  assumed  an  acrimonious  character,  and  abusive  epithets 
were  hurled  freely  by  each  of  the  combatants.  The  popular  voice 
seemed  to  be  on  the  side  of  the  new  University,  and  in  the  election 
of  1817  the  Republican  party  carried  the  State  by  a  rather  stronger 
vote  than  in  the  previous  year. 

(170) 

The  old  trustees  determined  to  appeal  to  the  law  in  defense  of 
their  rights,  and  accordingly  brought  an  action  of  trover  against  Mr. 
Woodward,  the  treasurer  of  the  University,  for  the  recovery  of  the 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  165 


books  of  record,  charter,  common  seal,  and  books  of  account,  which 
they  alleged  to  be  their  property.  The  defendant  set  up  in  defense 
the  laws  of  1816,  and  his  appointment  under  them. 

The  counsel  for  the  plaintiffs  were  Mr.  Mason,  Mr.  Smith,a  and 
Mr.  Webster;  for  the  defendant,  Mr.  Sullivanb  and  Mr.  Bartlett.c 
Never  was  there  a  case  in  New  England  in  which  more  zeal  and  ability 
was  shown,  for  the  gentlemen  who  appeared  for  the  defense  were 
superior  men  and  upheld  the  claim  of  their  client  with  learning  and 
power.  At  the  June  term  of  the  Superior  Court  in  Grafton  County, 
1817,  the  case  was  argued  on  the  part  of  the  plaintiffs  by  Mr. 
Mason  and  Mr.  Smith,  and  on  the  part  of  the  defendant  by  Mr.  Bart- 
lett  and  Mr.  Sullivan,  and  continued  nisi  for  further  argument  in 
Rockingham  County  on  the  next  circuit. 

a  Jeremiah  Smith  (1759 — 1842),  was  58  years  old  when  this  case  was  tried 
in  the  State  Court;  had  been  four  times  in  Congress,  judge  of  the  U.  S.  Circuit 
Court,  Chief  Justice  of  the  State  Superior  Court  for  7  years;  then  Governor  of 
N.  H.;  then  Chief  Justice  of  the  State  Supreme  Court  for  three  years.  Was  of 
Scotch-Irish  stock;  possessed  of  great  and  accurate  learning  and  of  great  natural 
abilities,  but  like  Mason,  he  was  no  orator.  Webster  said  of  him:  "He  knows 
everything  about  New  England,  and  as  to  law  he  knows  so  much  more  of  it  than 
I  do,  or  ever  shall,  that  I  forbear  to  speak  on  that  point."  (This  was  written  in 
1825  to  Chancellor  Kent). 

b  George  Sullivan,  (1771 — 1838.)  At  the  time  of  this  trial,  he  was  43.  "Sulli 
van  was  from  Irish  and  Revolutionary  stock,  a  race  of  soldiers,  orators  and  law 
yers.  He  was  attorney-general  (as  his  father  was  before  him,  and  his  son,  after 
him)  for  21  years;  a  classical  scholar,  well  read  in  the  law;  and  excellent  special 
pleader;  swift  to  perceive,  prompt  to  act,  and  full  of  resources.  He  relied  too 
little  on  his  preparation,  and  too  much  upon  his  oratory,  his  power  of  illustration 
and  argument.  But  neither  the  Court,  the  jury,  nor  the  people  ever  grew  weary 
of  listening  to  his  silver  tones  or  his  arguments,  that  fell  like  music  on  the  ear."- 
Shirley's  Dartmouth  College  Causes,  154. 

°Ichabod  Bartlett,  (1786'— 1853),  was  but  31,  when  this  case  was  tried,  four 
years  younger  than  Webster,  and  died  one  year  after  Webster;  was  called  "The 
Little  Giant."  He  and  Webster  were  from  the  same  town,  Franklin,  N.  H.,  and 
theirs  were  the  leading  families  in  it.  He  served  three  terms  in  Congress;  was 
indefatigable  in  preparation,  eloquent  in  the  highest  sense,  ready,  witty,  and  a 
popular  idol.  In  the  art  of  gaining  verdicts  he  was  confessedly  the  equal  of  any 
engaged  in  this  trial.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth;  never  married;  had 
great  tact;  came  near  fighting  a  duel  with  Henry  Clay,  while  in  Congress.  His 
argument  in  the  Dartmouth  College  case  is  given  in  the  65th  New  Hampshire. 
Report. 


166  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


Accordingly  at  the  September  term  of  the  same  year  in  Rocking- 
ham  County  the  case  was  argued  anew  by  the  same  gentlemen,  and 
closed  on  behalf  of  the  plaintiffs  by  Mr.  Webster. 

Mr.  Mason  opened  the  case  for  the  plaintiffs.  His  argument  oc 
cupies  forty  pages  of  Mr.  Farrar's  report  of  the  case,  published  in 
1819,  and  is  a  model  of  powerful  logic,  condensed  statement,  and 
affluent  learning.  He  maintained  that  the  acts  of  the  Legislature 
were  not  binding,  first,  because  they  were  not  within  the  scope  of 
the  legislative  power;  second,  because  they  violated  the  Constitution 
of  New  Hampshire;  third,  because  they  violated  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States. 

The  decision  of  the  State  court  was  in  favor  of  the  defendant, 
and  mainly  on  the  ground  that  the  College  was  a  public  corporation ; 
and  that  between  the  State  and  a  public  corporation  there  is  no  con 
tract  which  the  State  cannot  regulate,  alter,  or  annul  at  pleasure. 

The  case  was  then  taken  by  writ  of  error  to  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  and  after  a  magnificent  argument  by  Mr.  Web 
ster,  the  decision  of  the  State  court  was  reversed  in  an  immortal 

(171) 

judgment  by  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  on  the  ground  that  the  College 
charter  was  a  contract  within  the  meaning  of  the  Contsitution,  and 
thus  not  within  the  scope  of  the  legislative  authority  of  a  State. 

Mr.  Webster's  celebrated  argument  has  more  variety  of  illustra 
tion  and  more  rhetorical  finish  than  that  of  Mr.  Mason's  before  the 
State  court  of  New  Hampshire,  but  all  the  legal  and  constitutional 
points  taken  by  the  former  were  anticipated  by  Mr.  Mason,  and  stated 
with  not  less  clearness  and  force. 

Mr.  Mason  felt  the  deepest  interest  in  the  Dartmouth  College  case, 
and  argued  it  with  all  the  energy  of  conviction.  In  his  view  it  was 
not  simply  a  controversy  between  two  corporations  as  to  which  was 
entitled  to  certain  rights  and  property,  but  the  question  went  deeper 
than  this.  It  went  deeper  than  the  relations  between  the  States  and 
the  general  government,  even  to  the  foundations  of  civil  society  it 
self.  He  believed  the  act  of  the  Legislature  of  New  Hampshire  to 
be  a  piece  of  legislative  usurpation,  and  that  the  State  had  no  more 
right  to  transfer  the  property  of  Dartmouth  College  to  another  cor- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  167 


poration  than  they  would  have  to  take  his  house  from  him  without 
paying  for  it,  and  give  it  to  another  man.  He  believed  that  neither 
property  nor  rights  would  be  safe  if  such  powers  could  be  exercised, 
and  he  hailed  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  as  giving  fresh 
security  to  property  and  new  guaranties  to  rights. 

Mr.  Mason  had  for  Chief  Justice  Marshall  a  veneration  and  grati 
tude  such  as  he  felt  for  no  other  man,  save  Washington  only ;  and 
without  doubt,  the  moral  courage  and  irresistible  logic  shown  by 
the  Chief  Justice  in  this  case  had  no  small  share  in  forming  this  es 
timate.  Upon  this  point  W.  H.  Y.  Hackett,  Esq.,  a  distinguished 
lawyer  of  Portsmouth,  who  knew  Mr.  Mason  well,  has  furnished  me 
with  an  interesting  illustrative  anecdote.  One  day,  soon  after  Cal- 
houn's  nullification  doctrines  began  to  attract  attention,  Mr.  Mason 
looked  in  at  Mr.  Hackett's  office  and  found  him  reading  one  of 
Marshall's  constitutional  opinions.  Mr.  Mason  said:  "If  John  Mar 
shall  had  not  been  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  the  Union 
would  have  fallen  to  pieces  before  the  general  government  had  got 

(172) 

well  under  way.  Marshall  has  controlled  the  Virginia  politicians  by 
the  irresistible  power  of  his  logic.  He  carried  so  many  well  in 
formed  and  well  intentioned  men  with  him  that  the  mischievous 
school  of  Jefferson  politicians  could  not  control  Virginia  against 
Marshall.  Jefferson  was  a  man  of  many  virtues,  but  he  was  a  phi 
losopher,  not  a  statesman.  He  and  Madison  did  not  quite  agree, 
though  they  tried  to  agree.  Madison's  mind  felt  the  force  of  Mar 
shall's  reasoning,  and  never  quite  adopted  the  Virginia  States'  rights 
theories.  John  Marshall  has  saved  the  Union,  if  it  is  saved." 


After  his  retirement  from  the  Senate,  Mr.  Mason  kept  up  a  corre 
spondence  on  public  affairs  with  his  friends  Mr.  King  and  Mr.  Gore. 
He  also  heard  occasionally  from  Mr.  Daggett,  United  States  Sena 
tor  from  Connecticut,  whom  Mr.  Mason  valued  as  a  sound  lawyer,  a 
firm  Federalist,  and  a  man  of  amiable  temper  and  genial  and  com 
panionable  spirit.  A  correspondence  begins  at  this  period  with 
Judge  Story,  which  continued  during  the  life  of  the  latter. 


168  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

CHRISTOPHER  GORE  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WALTHAM,  July  4,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  The  President  is  here,  he  rides  hard,  visits  every 
thing,  and  in  so  rapid  a  manner  that  it  is  utterly  impossible  he 
should  burden  his  mind  with  any  superfluous  knowledge.  This 
day  he  breakfasted  with  Commodore  Bainbridge  at  Brookline,  in 
spected  an  arsenal  at  Watertown,  a  cotton  manufactory  at  Waltham, 
examined  Mr.  Lyman's  villa,  stopped  at  my  house,  ate  a  straw 
berry,  bowed  and  shook  hands  cordially,  returned  to  Boston  to  meet 
the  Town  oration,  the  Governor's  collation,  and  the  Cincinnati  ad 
dress  and  their  dinner,  take  tea  at  Governor  Gray's,  etc.,  etc. 

I  wrote  him  a  note  apologizing  for  not  paying  my  respects  in  per 
son,  and  saying  if  he  came  in  this  quarter  and  could  call  without 
inconvenience,  I  should  be  happy  to  see  him. 

In  that  note  I  took  the  liberty  to  say  "All  cherished  the  hope  that 
his  administration  would  be  guided  by  a  single  eye  to  the  public 

(173) 

good,  and  that  all  interests  would  be  alike  protected  and  promoted, 
and  that  I  was  persuaded  this  would  redound  to  his  personal  satis 
faction  not  less  than  to  national  honor." 

Mr.  King  mentioned  that  he  told  him  it  was  his  intention  to  visit 
me  if  he  possibly  could. 

To-morrow  he  visits  the  Navy  yard,  seventy  four-gun  ship,  re 
views  Middlesex  militia,  dines  with  the  Governor,  and  spends  the 
evening  with  Senator  Otis.  So  we  go,  and  the  sooner  he  goes  the 
sooner  will  the  town  and  its  neighborhood  be  at  rest. 

With  our  best  regards  to  Mrs.  Mason,  I  remain, 

Your  faithful  friend, 

C.  GORE. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  THE  REV.  JESSE  APPLETON,  D.  D. 

PORTSMOUTH,  July  14,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  The  President  came  here  Saturday  in  the  after 
noon  and  set  out  for  Portland  early  this  morning.  We  have  acted 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  169 


foolishly  enough,  though  not  in  the  magnificent  style  of  the  Boston 
folks. 

As  you  requested,  I  asked  him  the  first  opportunity  I  had,  whether 
he  should  proceed  further  east  than  Portland.  He  said  he  thought 
not,  but  did  not  seem  to  be  entirely  determined.  I  inquired  of 
him  again  yesterday,  when  he  said  he  certainly  should  not.  That 
he  had  wished  to  go  as  far  east  as  he  could,  but  that  his  progress 
had  been  so  slow  that  he  could  not  without  great  exertion  get  away 
from  the  Western  Lakes  (where  he  must  go)  before  the  time  of  the 
fever  and  ague.  I  gave  him  to  understand  that  if  he  went  down  to 
your  College  you  would  probably  feed  him. 

I  do  not  know  whether  that  was  the  highest  possible  stimulus  for 
him. 

He  expressed  high  satisfaction  with  ,New  England  and  the  treat 
ment  he  has  experienced  from  the  Yankees. 

We  are  all  well.  Truly  yours,  J.  MASON. 

(174) 
RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

GEORGETOWN,  D.  C.,  SUNDAY,  November  30,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Mrs.  King  and  myself  arrived  here  last  evening, 
and  the  form  of  habit  has  set  us  down  again  at  Crawford's.  I  don't 
learn  that  as  yet  any  of  the  members  have  arrived  here,  though  the 
city  is  said  to  be  pretty  full.  We  occupy  our  old  apartments  to 
gether  with  your  room,  having  had  a  door  of  communication  opened 
between  it  and  our  front  room.  We  shall  both  miss  and  regret  the 
loss  of  your  society;  indeed  we  can  hardly  conjecture  who  are  to  be 
our  associates.  Mr.  Bailey,  on  the  Capitol  Hill,  will  draw  a  large 
portion  of  the  members  to  his  extensive  establishment,  which  as  I 
hear  embraces  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  houses  between  the  house  where 
he  was  last  year  and  that  in  which  Mr.  Dallas  lived.  Mr.  Otis  has 
taken  quarters  of  Bailey  in  Dallas's  house.  Not  having  been  abroad 
I  have  heard  no  news,  except  that  Mr.  Gates,  whom  we  met  in  our 
road  from  Baltimore,  informed  us  that  there  is  to  be  a  contest  be- 
tfween  Gen.  Sam  Smith  and  Mr.  Clay  for  the  Speaker's  chair.  He 
also  said  that  the  President  would  bring  the  situation  of  the  Span 
ish  colonies  before  Congress  in  his  Message.  The  opposition  to  Mr. 


170  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


Clay  may  mean  more  than  appears  on  the  surface;  mean  whatever 
it  may,  it  must  have  the  effect,  if  I  interpret  it  correctly,  to  separate 
him  from  the  administration,  and  such  separation  will  begin  a  new 
division  of  parties ;  but  we  had  better  defer  a  little  while  our  specu 
lations  on  this  matter,  as  at  present  we  see  very  little  into  it.  Our 
Boston  folks  have  not  been  honored  by  an  admission  to  the  cabinet. 
I  allude  to  the  office  of  Attorney-general.  What  their  late  choice  of 
a  successor  to  Mr.  Lloyd  may  do  in  their  favor  we  must  wait  to  find 
out.  To  one  who  finds  instruction,  as  well  as  amusement,  in  observ 
ing  the  new  lights  which  break  in  upon  us,  the  temper  of  accommoda 
tion,  the  attachment  to  new  friends,  and  the  desertion  of  old  ones, 
the  correction  of  past  errors,  by  approving  what  we  had  believed  to 
be  wrong,  and  the  condemnation  of  what  we  have  strenuously  con 
tended  to  be  right,  the  scene  of  this  session  of  Congress  will  not 

(175) 

fail  of  being  sufficiently  interesting.  But  more  hereafter.  Mrs. 
King  desires  me  to  unite  her  regards  to  mine  and  to  present  them 
to  Mrs.  Mason. 

With  esteem  and  respect  I  am,  dear  sir,  always  your  obedient 
and  faithful  servant,  RUFUS  KING. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  December  10,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  much  obliged  by  your  letter  of  the  30th  of 
November.  Mr.  Gore  informed  me  that  you  had  been  a  little  indis 
posed.  Your  being  so  early  at  Washington  is  evidence  of  restored 
health,  as  well  as  of  your  continued  interest  in  the  public  welfare. 
You  certainly  have  few  of  the  old  school  to  help  you.  I  am  how 
ever  most  sincerely  glad  that  you  continue  in  the  Senate.  I  feel 
a  stronger  inclination  to  be  with  you  than  I  intended  or  expected, 
when  I  resigned.  But  the  considerations  which  produced  it,  forbid 
my  repenting  of  that  act. 

I  see  by  the  newspapers  that  General  Smith  was  soon  distanced. 
He  surely  had  no  aid  from  the  administration.  The  Federal  party 
being  extinct,  and  no  other  being  organized  to  act  in  opposition,  the 
present  session  of  Congress  must  be  fruitful  in  novel  exhibitions, 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  171 


affording  ample  scope  for  observation  and  reflection.  Nothing  like 
the  present  state  of  things  has  been  experienced  since  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution.  At  the  commencement  of  the  government, 
the  deep  interest  and  ardent  zeal  it  excited,  brought  to  its  aid  and 
united  in  action  the  best  talents  of  the  country.  I  have  always  sup 
posed  also,  that  there  was  then  exhibited  a  disinterested  patriotism 
and  purity  of  intention,  not  often  found  in  the  administration  of 
public  affairs.  One  may  doubt,  without  being  over  skeptical,  whether 
the  nation  enjoys  all  those  advantages,  in  an  unusual  degree,  at  the 
present  time.  For  the  last  sixteen  years  (I  think  I  may  say  twenty) 
the  government  has  been  carried  on  by  party  spirit.  What  is  now 
to  be  substituted?  Will  patriotism  return,  or  will  Executive  patron- 

(176) 

age  and  influence  answer  the  purpose?  I  shall  not  be  greatly  sur 
prised  if  the  present  Congress  should  be  somewhat  torpid  and  in 
active.  This  disorder  will  however,  as  I  think,  be  of  short  dura 
tion. 

The  President's  message  (of  which  I  received  a  copy  by  your 
frank)  is,  as  far  as  I  have  heard,  quite  satisfactory.  The  present  is 
not  the  time  for  finding  fault.  The  expedition  to  Amelia  Island 
excites  some  attention.  The  suppression  of  the  establishment,  I 
suppose  means  the  occupation  of  the  Island  by  a  military  force.  I 
have  no  doubt  of  the  justice  and  expediency  of  suppressing,  in  some 
way,  that  nest  of  pirates.1  Had  Mr.  Adams,  while  President,  done  a 
similar  act,  there  would  have  been  not  a  little  carping  at  his  authority, 
notwithstanding  such  "imperious  considerations"  as  are  alleged  in 
justification  of  the  present  measure.  Is  East  Florida  to  be  in 
cluded  in  a  similar  occupation?  I  hope  there  is  no  danger  of  our  be 
ing  entangled  in  a  serious  dispute  for  that  miserable  sand-bank.  The 
recommendation  to  repeal  the  internal  taxes  is  what  I  least  expected 
and  most  dislike.  I  had  hoped  that  our  experience  during  the  late 
war  had  sufficiently  demonstrated  the  danger  of  relying  for  revenue 
wholly  on  imports.  And  even  were  we  sure  of  perpetual  peace, 
what  would  be  a  more  suitable  subject  for  taxation  than  the  whiskey 
stills?  This  is  the  only  tax  which  tends  to  an  equalization  of 

1  At  the  close  of  the  year  1817,  Amelia  Island  off  the  coast  of  Florida,  was 
occupied  by  a  band  of  lawless  adventurers,  who  were  driven  off  by  orders  of  the 
United  States  Government. 


172  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


burdens  between  the  sea-board  and  interior  States.  The  estimate 
now  given  of  the  produce  of  the  customs  and  sales  of  public  lands, 
is,  if  I  rightly  recollect,  several  millions  above  the  estimate  in  Mr. 
Crawford's  last  report.  But  if  the  present  is  a  just  estimate,  the 
amount  may  be  easily  disposed  of  with  the  addition  of  the  internal 
towns.  Why  not  apply  the  surplus  to  the  payment  of  that  part  of 
the  public  debt  owned  by  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  which  is 
redeemable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Government? 

I  shall  take  much  interest  in  the  doings  at  Washington  this  win 
ter,  and  shall  be  obliged  by  your  explanation  whenever  you  can  favor 

23  (177) 

me  with  it  without  taxing  yourself  too  much.  Mrs.  Mason  joins  me 
in  presenting  our  respects  to  Mrs.  King.  With  the  highest  respect, 
I  am  sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  CHRISTOPHER  GORE. 

PORTSMOUTH,  December  24,  1817. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — .  .  I  have  heard  little  from  Washington  more 
than  is  contained  in  the  newspapers.  At  the  first  of  the  session 
there  seemed  to  be  considerable  expectation  that  Mr.  Speaker  Clay 
would  place  himself  at  the  head  of  a  new  opposition.  In  a  letter  I 
have  just  received,  it  is  said  he  will  probably  attempt  to  push  the 
President  in  the  further  discussion  which  is  soon  expected  on  the 
subject  of  the  South  American  patriots.  But  I  do  not  believe  he 
will  gain  much  on  that  ground.  Nor  do  I  believe  he  will  go  into 
opposition.  Should  he,  Monroe  will  strangle  him  within  one  year. 
I  believe,  for  a  short  time,  at  least,  we  are  to  be  all  Federalists  and  all 
Republicans.  How  the  Government  is  to  get  on,  I  form  no  conjec 
ture.  The  situation  is  novel.  The  Government  has  been  carried  on  so 
long  by  mere  party  spirit,  that  I  expect  our  rulers  will  be  somewhat 
perplexed  to  carry  it  on  by  any  other  principle.  They  seem  already 
to  have  lost  the  scent,  and  be  at  fault  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  on  the  subject  of  internal  improvements.  I  should  not  be 
surprised  if  there  should  be  experienced  some  difficulty  in  getting 
the  Legislature  into  action.  What  is  to  be  the  stimulus  and  what 
the  guide?  Is  there  sufficient  force  of  enlightened  patriotism?  Or 
is  the  executive  patronage  and  influence  so  greatly  increased,  of  it- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  173 


self  sufficiently  powerful?  What  I  most  regret  is  the  repeal  of  the 
internal  taxes.  Who  would  have  expected  that  the  direful  experience 
of  the  last  year  of  the  late  war  would  have  been  so  soon  forgotten? 
I  hope  your  health  is  confirmed  or  continues  to  improve.  Please 
to  present  my,  with  Mrs.  Mason's,  best  regards  to  Mrs.  Gore.  I  am 
as  always,  dear  sir,  affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

(178) 
RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

GEORGETOWN,  D.  C.,  January  3,  1818. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  received  and  am  obliged  to  you  for  your  letter. 
As  yet  nothing  of  interest  has  occurred  in  Congress;  the  apathy 
which  appears  to  exist  must  not  be  regarded  as  evidence  that  no 
strong  passions  are  concealed,  and  waiting  only  for  an  occasion  to 
show  themselves.  An  opposition  will  arise.  The  President  has  no 
zealous  friends  nor  enemies ;  but  as  a  sufficient  number  of  rivals  may 
be  pointed  out,  the  quiet  aspect  of  things  will  not  continue.  Per 
haps  a  difficulty  is  felt  concerning  the  questions  on  which  the  for  and 
against  the  President  are  to  show  themselves.  I  shall  not  be  disap 
pointed  if  the  report  concerning  Roads  and  Canals  be  the  occasion 
that  will  be  used  to  form  an  opposition,  at  least  in  appearance.  If,  as 
is  supposed,  a  large  majority  disagree  with  the  President  in  his  con 
struction  of  the  Constitution,  and  after  a  debate  of  the  question 
shall  vote  accordingly,  it  will  be  a  beginning;  and  the  next  debate, 
that  may  be  on  a  question  to  recommend  to  the  President  to  re 
ceive  a  mission  from  Buenos  Ayres,  (which  the  President  may  do 
without  such  advice,)  may  more  clearly  disclose  personal  views  and 
political  hostilities,  and  terminate  in  the  more  distinct  appearance 
of  a  new  opposition. 

The  South  American  question,  just  as  I  have  stated  it,  is  one  in 
which  great  unanimity  is  said  to  exist  among  the  men  of  the  West, 
and  therefore  a  favorable  occasion  for  their  leader  to  appear  and  to 
draw  towards  him  the  regards  of  those  who  may  be  willing  to  ele 
vate  and  follow  him. 

Crawford,  it  is  whispered,  cannot  support  himself  on  his  salary, 
and  talks  of  retirement.  Whether  this  be  the  real  motive,  or  an 


174  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


unwillingness  to  figure  in  the  approaching  contests,  or  whether  the 
whisper  be  correct,  we  know  not. 

Mr.  Clinton  will  be  backed  by  the  mammoth  State,  as  Mr.  Giles 
called  us,  and  his  canal  is  persuasive  also,  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 
among  the  back  men  of  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Adams  is  understood 

(179) 

to  have  the  favor  of  all  the  good  patriots  of  New  England,  and 
John  Holmes  at  their  head  is  to  be  his  Guy  of  Warwick.  All  these 
competitors,  whose  numbers,  by-the-by,  lessen  trouble  to  Mr.  Presi 
dent,  will  make  rare  sport  for  the  amateurs.  To  be  a  little  more 
sober,  I  think  it  is  quite  impossible  as  yet  to  determine  what  new 
controversies  or  parties,  are  likely  to  arise.  So  far  as  I  can  conjecture, 
the  remnant  of  Federalism  here  is  disposed  to  look  on.  Mr.  Otis  of 
Boston  has  been  with  us,  but  left  the  Senate  a  week  ago  or  more 
to  hold  his  court,  which  will  continue  the  suits  and  allow  him  to 
return.  If  he  really  expected  anything,  I  fancy  his  hopes  were  not 
raised  by  the  weeks  he  passed  here. 

With  sincere  esteem  and  respect,  I  am  dear  sir, 

Your  obedient  servant,  RUFUS  KING. 

DAVID  DAGGETT  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  5,  1818. 

• 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Your  favor  of  28th  December  is  received. 
Should  the  bill  for  internal  improvements  be  passed  after  the  dec 
laration  of  the  President,  it  probably  will  be  done  with  an  intent  to 
support  an  opposition,  and  this  subject  will  be  resorted  to  as  the 
most  popular.  The  requisite  majorities  can  hardly  be  expected,  and 
it  is  not  certain  that  they  will  be  desired.  The  Federalists,  as  you 
justly  remarked,  can  make  no  opposition.  They  are  quiet  and,  as  far 
as  I  know,  disposed  to  remain  so.  Can  a  government  constituted 
like  ours  long  continue  in  the  torpid  state  which  now  appears?  A 
patronage  of  millions  will  be  an  object  of  ambition.  You  can  be 
lieve  that  at  least  three  gentlemen  are  not  unconcerned  about  the 
next  Presidential  election,  and  at  least  three  hundred  have  some 
anxiety  about  elections  or  appointments  of  less  importance.  In  this 
condition,  what  more  natural  than  that  another  party  should  arise? 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  175 


Materials  are  not  wanting  to  form  it.  These  remarks  are,  of  course, 
inter  nos.  In  connection  with  the  foregoing  observations,  you  will 
bear  in  mind  the  thorny  state  of  our  relations  with  Spain,  and  the 

(180) 

strange  situation  of  our  affairs  at  the  South.  Is  Amelia  Island  ours 
by  conquest?  What  shall  we  do  with  it  and  its  inhabitants  and 
garrisons?  Assuredly  we  may  look  for  matter  of  much  interest 
from  these  sources,  and  you  perceive  a  great  conflict  of  opinion 
among  "brethren  of  the  same  principle"  on  this  subject.  If  the 
Executive  is  supported  in  his  views,  by  some  of  his  principal  officers, 
others  may  think  and  act  very  differently. 

Enough  of  prophecy.  A  bill  for  a  bankrupt  law  is  again  reported 
(I  think  the  one  of  the  last  session).  A  very  general,  not  to  say  uni 
versal,  opinion  exists  in  favor  of  such  a  law.  The  discussion  of  its 
details  will  doubtless  be  tedious,  but  I  think  it  will  pass  in  some 
form.  The  mercantile  interest  demands  it.  It  now  seems  abso 
lutely  necessary  to  relieve  the  nation  from  partial,  and,  I  may  add, 
swindling  insolvent  laws.  A  system  of  internal  revenue,  in  my 
judgment,  is  just  and  proper  at  all  times,  but  I  heartily  concurred 
in  the  late  repeal,  because  the  land  stamp  had  already  been  dis 
continued,  and  the  license  tax  and  carriage  taxes  are  vexatious 
and  unequal.  Indeed,  when  Congress  refused  to  continue  the  land 
tax,  I  considered  the  system  as  destroyed.  We  cannot  in  this  coun 
try  maintain  such  a  system  in  any  times  except  those  of  immediate 
peril. 

And  now,  with  my  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  Mason,  a  word  for  her. 
Mrs.  Monroe  opened  her  drawing-room  (in  the  Palace),  for  the 
first  time  this  season,  on  New  Year's  day.  The  weather  was  fine, 
and  the  assemblage  brilliant  and  numerous.  The  Furniture  is  more 
splendid  than  I  had  before  witnessed;  but  of  this,  as  well  as  of  the 
dresses,  I  can  give  no  description  for  want  of  the  appropriate  lan 
guage.  Mrs.  Monroe  wore  an  Italian  hat  with  a  very  beautiful 
white  plume,  and  she  so  contrived  both,  as  to  set  off,  to  the  best 
advantage,  every  iota  of  her  handsome  face.  Her  deportment  was 
graceful  and  dignified.  It  is  well  understood  that  dining  parties 
and  levees  are  to  be  continued  as  formerly,  but  Mrs.  Monroe  declines 
returning  visits.  Our  session  has  hitherto  been  very  peaceful;  no 


176  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


subject   will    probably    create    much    agitation,    except   that    which 

(181) 
regards  the  Southern  patriots  and  pirates.     Probably  the  judiciary 

may  undergo  some  important  revisions,  but  of  this  I  am  by  no 
means  certain.  Aaron  Burr  once  said,  that  "Every  legislature  was 
a  d — d  Jacobinic  club  with  respect  to  the  judiciary."11 

I  shall  at  all  times  hear  from  you  with  pleasure,  and  should  any 
thing  occur  here  worth  communicating,  and  perhaps  without  such 
occurrence,  you  shall  hear  from  me. 

Very  sincerely  yours,  DAVID  DAGGETT. 

aAaron  Burr  (1756 — 1836).  American  political  leader  and  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States,  was  born  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  the  son  of  a  clergyman  and 
educator  of  the  same  name.  He  was  noted  for  his  sententious  sayings.  For  in 
stance  : 

1.  "Law  is  whatever  is  boldly  asserted  and  plausibly  maintained." 

2.  "As  to  a  compromise,  move  slowly,  never  negotiate  in  a  hurry." 

3.  "Never  do  to-day  what  you  can  do  well  tomorrow,  because   something 
may  occur  to  make  you  regret  your  premature  action." 

4.  "It  is  an  affront  to  exhibit  to  others  a  face  of  gloom." 

5.  "They   say!'      Those   two   little   words  have   done   more   harm   than    all 
others." 

6>.  "Of  all  animals,  authors  are  the  vainest;  no  eulogies  of  their  works 
can  be  too  gross.'' 

7.  "I  have  left  in  cash  two  half-pence,  which  is  much  better  than  one  penny, 
because  they  jingle,  and  thus  one  may  refresh  one's  self  with  the  music." 

8.  "The  Scriptures  are  the  most  perfect  system  of  truth  the  world  has  ever 
seen." 

9.  "I  never  knew  a  memory  which  retains  accurately  names  and  dates  to  be 
accompanied  with  much  invention,  or  fancy.     It  is  almost  the  exclusive  blessing 
of  dullness.     The  mind  which  perceives  clearly,  adopts  and  appropriates  an  idea, 
and  is  thus  enlarged  and  invigorated.     It  is  of  little  moment  whether  the  book, 
the  time,  or  the  occasion  be  recollected." 

10.  "My  idea  of  a  devil  is  composed  more  of  malice  than  of  meaness." 

11.  "To  render  any  reading  really  amusing,  or  in  any  degree  instructive, 
never  pass  a  word  you  do  not  understand,  or  the  name  of  a  person  or  place  of 
which  you  have  not  some  knowledge.     You  will  say  that  attention  to  such  matters 
is  too  great  an  interruption.     If  so,  do  but  note  them  down  on  paper,  and  devote 
an  hour  particularly  to  them  when  you  have  finished  a  chapter  or  come  to  a 
proper  pause.     After  an  experiment  of  this  mode,  you  will  never  abandon  it." 
(Webster  had  a  habit  of  closing  a  book  which  he  had  read,  and  if  there  was  any 
thing  peculiarly  interesting  or  striking,  laying  it  up  in  his  memory,  by  repeating  it 
to  himself,  and  if  he  could  not  do  this,  go  over  it  again,  and  thus  makeNit  his  own.) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  177 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  6,  1818. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  feel  myself  much  obliged  by  your  letter.  I 
do  not  expect  to  attend  the  session  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  U.  S. 
this  winter.  Although  I  had  become  somewhat  tired  of  Washington 
and  its  bustle,  I  confess  I  should  like  to  see  again,  for  a  short  time, 
some  of  the  faces  collected  there.  But  were  there  no  other  reasons, 
my  engagements  at  our  Superior  Court  would  prevent  my  undertak 
ing  that  journey  at  the  present  time.  I  am  endeavoring  to  pick  up 
my  old  law  habits,  which,  as  you  once  told  me,  are  usually  much  en 
dangered  by  a  residence  among  the  politicians  of  Washington.  I 
noticed  the  movements  in  Congress  towards  a  new  organization  of 
the  courts,  and  think  it  probable  something  will  before  long  be  done 
on  that  subject.  There  may  be  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  form 
and  manner  of  organization  of  them,  but  the  better  informed  will 
agree,  as  I  think,  in  the  necessity  of  establishing  in  some  way  new 
circuit  courts.  It  is  not  probable  those  courts  will  be  made  to  con 
sist  of  the  present  district  judges,  as  has  been  sometimes  talked  of, 
but  new  judges  will  probably  be  appointed.  I  am  fully  sensible  of 
the  value  of  your  favorable  opinion,  and  of  the  kindness  of  the  wish 
you  express  of  seeing  me  in  a  judicial  office.  I  do  not  think  it  neces 
sary  or  proper  for  me,  in  speaking  to  you  on  this  subject,  to  affect 
any  prudery.  Could  I  suppose  myself  tolerably  qualified  for  it,  such 
a  situation  must  (182)  doubtless  be  acceptable  to  me.  It  would  be 
unwise  for  me  to  say  thus  much  publicly.  For,  however  willing  I 
might  be  to  accept  it,  I  should  not  dare  flatter  myself  with  the  expec 
tation  of  the  offer  of  such  an  appointment.  Should  there  be  occasion 
of  appointing  judges  in  this  circuit,  so  numerous  would  be  the  appli 
cants,  such  interest  would  be  made,  and  such  management  used,  that 
there  would  be  little  chance  of  the  offer  being  made  to  me.  I  have 
no  reason  to  suppose  myself  personally  obnoxious  to  the  ill-will  or  dis 
pleasure  of  those  whose  duty  it  would  be  to  make  the  selection.  But 
I  know  of  no  ground  on  which  I  could  found  any  special  claim  of 
merit  with  them.  In  the  present  state  of  public  opinion  and  feeling, 
no  reason  is  apparent  why  a  very  strict  conformity  in  political  creed 
would  be  deemed  necessary.  Were  that  the  case,  I  could  profess  no 


178  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


readiness  to  abjure  heresies,  but  I  could  safely  declare  that  according 
to  my  view  of  the  mysteries,  you  learned  doctors  of  the  orthodox 
sect  are  in  the  constant  habit  of  indulging  both  in  word  and  deed  in 
all  the  heresies  and  sins  I  feel  any  affection  for. 

I  have  just  been  reading  in  the  second  of  Gallison,  your  opinion 
on  the  admiralty  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  U.  S.  I  intend  to  read 
it  again,  and  with  more  minute  and  critical  attention.  As  far  as  I 
understand  the  subject,  I  really  think  you  have  settled  the  question. 
I  have  also  read  your  decision  concerning  G.  W.  Campbell's  remission 
of  penalties.1  Should  he  chance  to  see  it,  he  will  certainly  think  there 
is  a  necessity  for  establishing  new  courts. 

I  am,  with  much  esteem  and  respect,  dear  sir, 

Sincerely  and  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

JOSEPH  STORY  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

SALEM,  January  9,  1818. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  the  pleasure  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  your  favor  of  yesterday.  I  hope  that  Congress  will  create  (183)  cir 
cuit  courts  on  the  plan  of  the  Judicial  Act  of  1801 ;  and  I  shall  use 
all  my  little  efforts  for  this  purpose.  In  case  a  new  system  passes, 
I  do  not  think  that  the  President  ought  in  the  slightest  degree  to 
consult  political  opinions ;  but  ought  to  select  the  ablest  and  the  best 
men.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  course  is  so  obvious,  both  for  the  dig 
nity  of  the  government  and  the  good  of  the  public,  that  the  President 
will  have  no  adequate  temptation  to  deviate  from  it.  In  relation  to 
candidates  for  office,  I  should  on  ordinary  occasions  feel  a  delicacy 
in  approaching  the  Executive;  but  as  to  judicial  appointments,  espe 
cially  within  my  circuit,  I  feel  it  almost  a  duty  to  give  him  exact  in 
formation.  If  therefore,  a  new  court  is  created  I  shall  certainly 
bring  before  him  the  merits  of  the  various  professional  gentlemen 
who  are  entitled  to  be  considered  as  candidates  for  such  appoint 
ments.  I  shall  do  this  on  public  grounds,  and  shall  most  explicitly 
recommend  you  for  the  highest  judicial  office,  because  I  am  most  de 
cidedly  of  opinion  that  your  learning,  talents,  and  rank  equally  en- 

.  Mason  refers  to  the  case  of  The  Margaretta  and  Cargo,  2  Gallison,  515. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  179 


title  you  to  it.  I  need  not  add  that  I  shall  in  no  degree  feel  myself 
prompted  to  this  act  by  my  private  friendship  and  respect  for  you, 
strong  as  these  are,  but  by  motives  of  public  good,  by  a  desire  to  sus 
tain  the  honor  and  the  independence  of  the  Bench,  and  through  them 
of  the  government  itself.  In  addressing  myself  to  the  Executive, 
however,  I  shall  carefully  abstain  from  the  slightest  intimation  to 
him  that  you  would  accept  such  an  office,  or  even  that  I  felt  at  liberty 
to  entertain  such  an  opinion.  This  course  I  deem  proper,  lest  I  should 
otherwise  seem  to  seek  what  ought  to  be  most  earnestly  sought  by 
the  government  itself.  Perhaps  I  may  be  wrong  in  supposing  that  I 
shall  have  any  influence  with  the  Executive  in  such  an  appointment; 
but  if  so,  I  am  sure  he  cannot  be  ignorant  of  the  very  high  rank  which 
you  hold  in  the  profession,  and  how  entirely  acceptable  to  the  public 
would  be  your  appointment.  If  anything  should  occur  of  a  decisive 
character,  I  will  do  myself  the  pleasure  of  writing  you  from  Wash 
ington,  whither  I  go  in  about  ten  days.  If  I  shall  have  the  good  for 
tune  to  have  your  suffrage  as  to  the  Admiralty  Jurisdiction,  (184) 
it  will  greatly  strengthen  my  opinion,  which  I  confess  I  have  not  yet 
seen  the  least  reason  to  change.1 

I  am,  with  the  highest  respect, 

Your  most  obliged  friend  and  servant. 

JOSEPH  STORY. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  15,  1818. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  feel  myself  not  only  much  obliged  by  the  kind 
sentiments,  but  much  honored  by  the  favorable  opinion  expressed  in 
your  letter  of  the  9th  instant.  If  the  Administration  and  their  con 
fidential  friends  will  assent  to  it,  I  have  no  doubt  the  best  chance  for 
success  in  attempting  to  amend  the  judiciary  establishment,  would 

1  Judge  Story  here  alludes  to  his  judgment  in  the  celebrated  case  of  De  Lovio 
v.  Boit  et  al,  2  Gallison,  398,  maintaining  that  a  policy  of  insurance  is  a  mari 
time  contract,  and  therefore  of  admiralty  jurisdiction.  After  much  discussion, 
and  some  difference  of  judicial  opinion,  the  doctrine  of  this  case  has  been  recently 
affirmed  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  Insurance  Co.  v.  Durham, 
II  Wallace,  I. 

24 
—13 


180  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


be  on  the  plan  of  the  Act  of  1801.  That  would  save  the  labor  of  get 
ting  up  a  new  bill,  and  settling  the  details,  and  would  also  have  the 
advantage  of  experience  on  its  side.  When  this  subject  was  talked 
of  the  last  session,  it  was  said  that  the  then  President  and  his  friends 
would  not  like  a  revival  of  the  old  Act  of  1801,  for  fear  of  the  appear 
ance  of  inconsistency  in  reviving  an  act  they  had  formerly  repealed. 
I  know  not  whether  there  was  any  foundation  for  the  suggestion.  I 
heard  it  from  no  authority.  I  should  not  think  it  probable  that  Mr. 
Monroe  would,  at  the  present  time,  be  influenced  by  any  such  appre 
hension.  Were  it  admitted  that  when  that  act  was  repealed  there 
were  sufficient  reasons  for  it,  surely  it  cannot  be  said  those  reasons 
now  exist.  The  circumstances  of  the  country  are  materially  changed, 
and  the  duties  of  the  judiciary  vastly  increased.  Of  this,  the  fre 
quent  application  for  new  courts  from  various  quarters,  is  sufficient 
evidence.  In  letters  from  Washington,  I  am  told  there  is  considera 
ble  talk  of  doing  something  on  this  subject,  but  that  the  result  is  very 
uncertain.  In  (185)  one  of  them  is  repeated  a  saying  of  A.  Burr, 
"that  every  legislature,  in  their  treatment  of  the  judiciary,  is  a  d — d 
Jacobin  club."  There  is  certainly  nothing  in  a  good  judiciary  likely 
to  attract  the  favorable  regards  of  a  Legislature  in  turbulent  party 
times.  The  dominant  party  in  such  times  can  expect  no  aid  in  fur 
therance  of  some  of  their  measures  from  the  judiciary.  Indeed,  both 
parties  having  unreasonable  expectations  of  aid  from  the  judiciary, 
are  usually  disappointed,  and  are  apt  to  view  it  with  jealousy.  And 
as  it  has  nothing  to  offer  to  appease  or  attract  either  party,  neither 
will  hazard  much  for  it.  The  Legislature  at  present  seem  greatly  re 
lieved  from  the  influence  of  party  spirit.  The  situation  is  new,  and 
affords  ample  matter  for  observation  and  reflection.  It  may  not  be 
easy  to  foretell  what  the  government  would  do  were  this  quiet  state 
of  peace  to  continue  long  enough  for  the  adoption  of  permanent  meas 
ures.  Would  to  God  the  experiment  might  be  fairly  tried.  But  it  is 
whispered  at  Washington  that  a  new  party  is  soon  to  be  formed.  I 
know  many  idle  conjectures  are  constantly  formed  and  buzzed  about 
in  that  place,  and  sometimes  gain  a  degree  of  credit  they  are  in  no 
way  entitled  to.  I  can  see  the  recurrence  of  no  cause  likely  to  pro 
duce  any  strong  party  division  during  this  Congress.  Whatever  pro 
duces  it  must  be  in  relation  to  the  next  Presidential  election,  which 
is  yet  too  remote  to  justify  the  exposure  of  arrangements  for  it  by 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  181 


any  candidate.  But  however  this  may  be,  I  certainly  think  the  pres 
ent  a  very  favorable  time  for  the  Legislature  to  act  on  the  subject  of 
the  judiciary.  Should  the  executive  government  be  favorably  inclined 
to  an  establishment  similar  to  that  of  1801,  I  think  there  is  great 
probability  of  its  being  effected.  Against  the  wish  of  the  Executive 
and  encountering  the  obstacles  which  that  department  can  easily 
raise,  I  do  not  believe  anything  can  be  done  on  the  subject. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  with  much  esteem  and  respect, 

Truly  and  faithfully  yours, 
J.  MASON. 

(186) 
JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  27,  1818. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  much  obliged  by  your  letter  of  the  3d  of  Jan 
uary.  I  had  not  supposed  it  probable  that  the  rival  candidates  for 
the  next  Presidency  would  have  exhibited  themselves  at  so  early  a 
period.  The  next  Congress  would  seem  to  be  soon  enough  for  that. 
A  premature  exposure  of  their  pretensions  must  tend  to  the  security 
of  the  present  incumbent.  It  is  reported  here  that  Mr.  Monroe  in 
tends  bona  fide  to  make  his  Secretary  of  State  his  eventual  successor, 
and  that  he  will  in  due  time  give  evidence  of  such  intention.  Of 
course  we  are  all  to  give  our  utmost  aid  to  secure  the  inheritance  to 
the  present  occupant,  during  his  lawful  term  of  eight  years,  in  hopes 
thereby  to  obtain  the  reversion  to  ourselves.  In  confirmation  of  this, 
it  is  said  the  Secretary  is  very  desirous  of  keeping  New  England 
quiet.  That  he  has  advised  his  friends  in  Massachusetts  not  to  set 
up  a  candidate,  nor  make  any  opposition  to  the  reelection  of  Governor 
Brooks,  I  believe  the  latter  report  to  be  true,  and  that  his  advice  will 
have  good  influence. 

If  the  President  is  attacked  for  his  conduct  towards  the  patriots 
of  South  America,  New  England  will,  as  I  think,  support  him.  In 
deed,  be  the  ground  of  attack  what  it  may,  the  Yankees  will  not  at 
present  join  in  it.  They  have  become  tired  of  opposition,  which  has 
given  them  no  profit,  and  not  much  credit,  and  are  now  inclined  to 


182  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


try  the  opposite  course,  and  sing  the  "Vicar  of  Bray."a  While  in 
opposition,  our  force  being  paralyzed  by  division,  we  effected  nothing. 
Shall  we  have  success,  when  united  in  a  course  of  subserviency? 

My  namesake,  of  Boston,  I  am  told,  is  disposed  to  act  a  consider 
able  part.1  He  is  to  occupy  neutral  ground,  and  perform  the  office 
of  mediator.  I  know  little  of  him  personally,  but  have  lately  heard 
pretty  good  judges,  who  knew  him  well,  declare  that  he  had  capacity 
and  talents  of  a  higher  order  than  the  public  give  him  credit  (187) 
for.  His  election  gave  no  dissatisfaction  to  many  of  the  Bostonians, 
who  ostensibly  favored  the  election  of  his  opponent. 

The  good  people  of  Massachusetts  are  desirous  of  relieving  Mr. 
Otis1'  from  the  burden  of  one  of  his  offices.  I  am  informed  that  it  is 
firmly  determined  that  he  shall  quit  either  his  judgeship  or  office  of 
Senator.  The  lawyers  of  Boston,  some  of  whom  want  the  aforesaid 
judgeship,  complain  loudly.  A  late  statement  by  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  to  the  Legislature,  proposing  the  imposition  of  more 
duties  on  the  judges  of  inferior  courts,  bears  directly  on  him. 

I  hope  a  Bankrupt  Act  will  pass  this  session.  The  act  of  1801, 
not  being  well  understood  at  first,  was  in  some  of  the  States  badly 
executed.  The  system  had  just  become  familiar  when  it  was  repealed. 
The  vesting  of  the  appointment  of  commissioners  in  the  President, 
by  a  subsequent  act,  was  in  my  opinion  injudicious.  The  President, 
not  having  the  requisite  knowledge  of  characters,  is  less  able  to  make 
proper  selections  than  the  judges.  It  is  also,  as  I  think,  expedient 
that  the  commissioners  should  be  dependent  for  their  appointments 

a  A  disputed  English  character,  who  lived  in  England,  born  1540,  died  1588. 

1  Mr.  Jonathan  Mason,  who  was  a  representative  from  Boston  from  1817  to 
1820. 

b  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  (1765 — 1848),  a  nephew  of  James  Otis,  noted  as  an 
orator,  Graduated  from  Harvard,  1783;  practiced  law  in  Boston;  succeeded 
Fisher  Ames  in  lower  House  of  Congress,  where  he  became  a  decided  opponent 
of  the  Jeffersonian  party;  was  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  1814-18; 
attended  the  Hartford  Convention,  in  1814;  elected  to  Federal  Senate,  1817, 
where  he  distinguished  himself  in  the  debates  over  the  Missouri  question;  was 
defeated  as  Federalist  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  in  1823;  elected  Mayor  of 
Boston,  1829;  published  in  1848,  an  open  letter  advocating  Zachary  Taylor  fcr 
the  Presidency.  He  also  published  Letters  in  Defense  of  the  Hartford  Convention 
and  the  People  of  Mass.,  (1824),  though  Mr.  Mason  endeavored  to  dissuade  him 
therefrom. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  183 

on  the  judges,  which  would  best  secure  a  diligent  attention  to  their 
duties.  As  their  doings  come  often  under  the  examination  of  the 
courts,  their  misconduct  or  negligence  being  known  would  prevent  a 
reappointment,  if  to  be  made  by  the  judges. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  with  high  respect,  your  faithful  servant, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO   CHRISTOPHER  GORE. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  29,  1818. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  much  obliged  by  your  letter  of  the  6th 
January.  It  seems  there  is  a  confident  expectation  at  Washington 
that  a  new  opposition  party  is  soon  to  appear.  All  my  information 
tends  strongly  to  that  point.  I  did  not  expect  to  see  much  of  an  oppo 
sition  this  session,  or  even  during  this  Congress.  And  I  still  am 
inclined  to  believe  the  Washington  prophecy  antedates  this  (188) 
event  one  year  at  least.  You  know  the  politicians  there,  having 
leisure  enough  for  it,  are  apt  to  amuse  and  sometimes  heat  them 
selves  with  reports  of  plots  and  conspiracies  which  never  existed, 
except  in  imagination.  While  we  were  there,  many  reports  of  simi 
lar  nature  gained  credit  for  a  time,  and  then  ended  in  nothing.  As 
far  as  I  understand,  it  is  expected  that  Mr.  Speaker  C.  is  to  head  the 
opposition,  and  to  rest  himself  at  present  chiefly  on  the  President's 
treatment  of  the  patriots  of  South  America.  In  that  warfare,  I  think 
Mr.  C.  will  find  few  allies  on  this  side  the  Alleghany.  I  believe  the 
nation  generally,  with  the  exception  of  the  Western  men  of  war,  is 
well  satisfied  with  the  conduct  of  the  government  toward  the  Spanish 
Colonies.  If  there  be  any  fault,  it  is  in  not  sufficiently  restraining  the 
fitting  out  privateers  in  our  harbors  under  the  patriotic  flags.  This 
neglect  will  be  no  crime  in  Mr.  C.'s  view.  Whether  the  expulsion  of 
Commodore  Aury  and  his  renegadoes  from  Amelia  Island,  and  the 
occupation  of  it  by  our  troops,  can  be  justified  under  the  Secret  Act 
of  1811,  or  whether  it  comes  within  the  general  scope  of  the  executive 
power,  may  be  very  doubtful.  But  as  it  is  generally  assented  that 
something  of  the  kind  ought  to  have  been  done  by  somebody,  the 
President's  authority  will  not  be  very  severely  scrutinized,  unless 
some  misfortune  to  the  country  comes  from  it,  which  it  not  probable. 


184  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


He  must  take  care  that  Aury,  now  desperate,  does  not,  after  being 
dismissed  with  his  privateers,  indemnify  himself  for  his  loss  at  the 
expense  of  our  merchants.  Perhaps  it  would  have  been  as  well  to 
have  hung  him,  and  confiscated  his  vessels,  which,  if  he  is  a  pirate 
(as  the  President  asserts),  was  our  proper  security  against  future 
trouble.  Neither  on  this,  or  any  other  subject,  can  an  attack  be  made 
at  this  time  on  the  President,  with  any  prospect  of  support.  The 
nation  at  large  seems  to  like  the  present  tranquility,  and  freedom 
from  party  altercation.  It  has  the  recommendation  of  novelty.  I 
think  no  new  party  can  be  formed  but  with  a  direct  view  toward  the 
next  Presidential  election,  which  is  too  remote  for  present  calcula 
tion.  If  Mr.  C.  pursues  this  project  with  his  usual  boldness  and 
want  of  (189)  caution,  he  stands  a  good  chance  of  being  strangled 
at  the  end  of  two  years.  Mr.  Adams'  advice  to  his  friends  to  sup 
port  Governor  Brooks,  shows  his  anxiety  to  keep  the  good  people  of 
Massachusetts  quiet.  He  will  certainly  be  somewhat  perplexed  with 
your  State  claim.  I  suppose  your  friends  are  not  desirous  of  pre 
serving  that  source  of  popularity  any  longer,  but  are  willing  to  have 
it  extinguished.  Your  Legislature  appear  to  be  disposed  to  relieve 
Mr.  Otis  from  the  burden  of  one  of  his  offices.  His  declining  the 
proffered  military  rank  has  no  effect.  Will  he  abandon  his  salary  or 
senatorial  dignity?  If  the  latter,  you  will  have  to  look  out  for  two 
new  Senators,  as  I  am  told  Mr.  Ashmun  intends  this  for  his  last 
visit  to  Washington.  Mrs.  Mason,  as  usual,  desires  to  unite  with  me 
in  regards  to  Mrs.  Gore.  I  am,  dear  sir,  with  unabated  esteem, 

Sincerely  and  affectionately  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

DAVID  DAGGETT3  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON  February  10,  1818. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Yours  of  26th  January  was  duly  received.  I  now 
send  you  a  pamphlet  just  published  by  Charles  F.  Mercer.     It  may 

a  David  Daggett,  (1765-1851),  of  Connecticut,  was  54  years  of  age  at  this 
time,  and  one  of  the  foremost  lawyers  of  his  day,  afterwards  Chief  Justice  of 
Connecticut,  and  one  of  the  greatest  jurists  that  ever  honored  that  position;  was 
for  twenty  years  a  lecturer  on  Constitutional  Law,  at  the  Yale  Law  School; 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  185 


afford  you  a  moment  of  amusement,  but  I  am  quite  sure  the  perusal 
of  it  will  give  no  real  pleasure  to  either  of  the  parties.  Perhaps  you 
have  read  the  speech  of  Mr.  Thompson's  successor,  on  the  slave 
trade.1  Judge  Tait,  whom  you  know  sits  just  behind  me,  and  is  not 
the  most  placid  man  in  Christendom,  was  so  enraged  at  it  that  I  was 
obliged  to  interfere  and  tell  him  that  M.  was  a  good  Republican,  and 
yet  I  thought  if  he  did  not  preach  better  in  future,  his  license  ought 
to  be  taken  away.  The  Democratic  press  at  Philadelphia  is  attacking 
Clay  with  great  virulence.  The  author  is  a  certain  Mr.  Inchiquin2  of 
"blessed  memory."  Bledsoe  in  the  Senate,  and  Bibb  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  Kentucky,  you  see  are  aiding  (190)  in  the  Span 
ish  patriot  cause;  and  Pope  and  his  friends,  in  their  turn,  are  lash 
ing  Clay  for  his  opposition  to  Monroe.  Talbot  told  me,  last  evening, 
that  every  member  of  their  Legislature  ought  to  be  put  in  irons  for 
making  their  thirty-nine  new  banks.  He  says  by  their  charters,  not 
a  dollar  of  specie  capital  is  required,  and  that  it  is  done  from  hos 
tility  to  the  National  Bank.  I  think  Kentucky  is  in  a  very  hopeful 
way.  Their  Legislature  is  to  pull  down  Old  Spain  and  overturn  the 
National  Bank,  and  their  College  or  University  is  to  furnish  the 
world  with  sound  literature  and  religion  under  the  auspices  of  Presi 
dent  Holley.  The  claim  of  Beaumarchais  is  again  pressed  upon  us. 
It  will  probably  now  undergo  a  very  thorough  investigation,  and  a 
report  will  be  made  which  will  terminate  the  question  one  way  or 
another.  It  is  very  hard  to  bring  either  House  into  discussion  of  the 
Bankrupt  Law,  or  into  anything  relating  to  the  judiciary.  Topics 
of  more  immediate  interest,  though  of  minor  importance,  take  the 
preference.  I  forgot  whether  I  told  Mrs.  Mason  about  Queen's  draw 
ing-room  and  her  dining-table.  They  are  splendid  enough  for  any 
Republic.  The  plates  are  of  beautiful  French  china,  with  the  Ameri 
can  coat  of  arms  in  the  centre.  The  plateau  (I  believe  they  call  it) 

U.  S.  Senator,  1813-1819.  He  was  a  strong  Federalist,  a  master  of  invective, 
wielded  a  ready  pen,  and  in  sarcasm  and  repartee,  reminded  one  of  Dean  Swift. 
He  died  in  1851.  He  was  born  three  years  before  Mason  and  lived  three  years 
longer. 

1  Mr.  Daggett  here  probably  alludes  to  a  speech  by  Mr.  David  L.  Morrill,  Sen 
ator  from  New  Hampshire,  on  the  African  slave-trade,  delivered  in  the  Senate, 
January  12,  1818. — •  See  Benton's  Abridgement,  vol.  vi.  p.  16. 

2  Inchiquin  was  the  pseudonym  of  Charles  J.  Ingersoll. 


186  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


is  magnificent  beyond  anything  I  ever  witnessed.  Mrs.  M.  does  not 
return  visits.  Her  daughter,  Mrs.  Hay,  and  niece,  Miss  Goreman, 
act  for  her  in  that  ceremony.  Mrs.  Adams  (J.  Q.)  is  taking  the  same 
course,  which,  as  will  easily  be  imagined,  causes  some  heart-burnings. 
We  have  a  very  pleasant  time  in  the  Senate  this  winter.  I  think  you 
would  be  more  pleased  were  you  with  us,  than  at  any  former  ses 
sion.  The  thorny  questions  about  the  war,  seem  to  have  subsided, 
except  those  growing  out  of  the  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut 
claims;  they  will  linger  and  finally  be  paid.  Old  Father  Morrow 
takes  good  care  of  the  land ;  Mr.  Tait  nurses  the  navy ;  Williams  ad 
heres  closely  to  the  military;  and  Goldsborough,  to  the  District  of 
Columbia.  The  city  is  now  thronged  with  strangers,  and  many  of 
them  of  much  consideration.  The  Supreme  Court,  as  you  know,  is 
sitting,  and  that  brings  some  distinguished  men.  (191) 

Meade's  affair1  has  excited  some  spirit  in  the  House ;  it  will  prob 
ably  lead  to  nothing  of  much  importance.  With  particular  remem 
brance  to  Mrs.  Mason, 

I  am  very  sincerely  yours,  DAVID  DAGGETT. 

RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

March,   1818. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  ought  sooner  to  have  acknowledged  and  thanked 
you  for  your  letter;  but  having  nothing  to  communicate  of  any  con 
sequence,  I  have  omitted,  and  for  the  same  reason  might  still  omit, 
to  do  what  civility  required.  Except  the  Bankrupt  Bill,  which  has 
been  rejected  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  no  measure  of  im 
portance  has  been  even  debated.  The  West  and  the  South  seem  to 
have  arrayed  themselves  against  the  Bankrupt  Bill.  This  is  hardly 
fair;  as  we  have  stipulated  in  favor  of  the  security  of  their  labors, 
and  in  doing  so,  in  some  sort  disregarded  long  settled  opinions  in  re 
lation  to  slavery  among  ourselves,  we  might  in  return  expect  that  in 
a  matter  about  which  they  are  little  concerned,  and  scarcely  at  all 

1  Richard  W.  Meade,  an  American  citizen,  and  navy  agent  of  the  United 
States  at  Cadiz,  was  imprisoned  in  Spain  upon  a  judgment  obtained  against  him 
in  the  courts  of  that  country  as  assignee  of  a  bankrupt.  The  House  of  Represen 
tatives  adopted  a  resolution  to  support  the  President  in  any  measures  he  might 
adopt  to  obtain  his  release. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  187 


interested,  and  which  so  deeply  and  exclusively  affects  the  commer 
cial  States,  they  would  be  disposed  to  consent  to  a  measure  that  the 
experience  of  all  the  commercial  nations  has  sanctioned. 

Perhaps  the  measure  may  hereafter  be  resumed  and  with  better 
success.  I  perceive  no  material  difference  in  Congress  now,  from 
what  it  was  at  the  commencement  of  the  session.  There  is  no  party 
for,  and  none  against,  the  President.  Should  the  latter  appear  it 
would  probably  create  the  former.  There  are  whispers  and  sneers, 
about  too  much  formality,  etc.,  rich  furniture,  and  a  reserve  some 
what  beyond  the  plainness  and  simplicity  of  republicanism. 

The  Cabinet  too  is  said  to  be  ill  assorted ;  its  members  mutually 
jealous  of  each  other  and  not  over  often  consulted.  How  these  (192) 
things  may  be  I  am  not  able  to  tell  you.  I  can  well  imagine  that  the 
Department  of  State  and  that  of  Treasury  are  not  very  likely  to  be 
cordial  or  confidential.  Rivals  do  not  consult  each  other,  nor  are 
they  more  likely  than  others  to  agree  in  opinions  in  which  they  have 
no  personal  concern.  The  Secretary  at  Wara  is  a  young  man,  with 
honorable  views,  so  far  as  I  have  understood  them,  but  at  present 
cannot  be  supposed  to  have  great  influence  in  any  direction ;  and  as 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,1'  his  value  must  everywhere  depend  on 
his  being  placed  so  that  he  may  count  something.  Of  the  Attorney- 
General0  I  have  heard  very  little ;  personally  I  am  not  able  to  say  any 
thing.  The  Virginians  say,  as  our  friend  Lewis  used  to  do,  that  he 
is  a  high-minded  man;  though  as  a  lawyer  I  have  heard  that  Web 
ster  appeared  with  great  advantage  in  opposition  to  him  in  the  Bos 
ton  question,  turning  on  the  point  of  State  or  United  States  jurisdic 
tion.  The  President  continues  that  same  course  of  profession  which 
was  so  engaging  in  the  course  of  his  eastern  tour.  This  is  more  be 
fitting  a  Secretary  of  State,  who  decides  nothing,  than  the  President 
who  decides  all  things.  I  think  it  cannot  be  continued  without  be 
coming  insipid,  unless  he  gratifies  by  performance,  as  well  as  by 
expressions  of  regard  and  good  will.  That  he  would  do  so,  I  am  dis 
posed  to  believe,  if  he  dare ;  but  notwithstanding  we  are  all  Federal- 

aJohn  C.  Calhoun  was  Secretary  of  War. 

''Benjamin  W.  Crowninshield,  of  Masschusetts,  was  secretary  of  the  Navy. 

''William  Wist,  of  Virginia,  was  Attorney  General,  entering  upon  his  duties 
November  15,  1817. 


188  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


ists  and  all  Republicans,  that  means  in  the  sense  of  the  motto  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  —  we  may  all  support  but  only  a  part  be  rewarded. 

If  Mr.  A.  or  Mr.  B.  have  believed  by  broad  avowals  of  fidelity 
and  support,  that  the  past  would  be  forgotten,  and  that  they  would 
be  permitted  to  share  the  children's  bread,  they  will  find  themselves, 
at  least  for  a  time,  and  I  cannot  tell  for  how  long,  disappointed. 

That  New  England  is  ready  to  serve  and  support,  I  do  not  doubt ; 
but  yet  for  a  time  the  government  will  be  critically  situated,  if  it 
can  be  supported  only  by  a  majority  that  would  not  exist  without 
New  England.  So  much  for  domestic  affairs.  A  word  or  two  re 
specting  foreign  concerns. 

Our  Spanish  negotiation  is  just  now  at  a  stand,  and  the  (193)  De- 

25 

partment  of  State  is  soon  to  send  in  a  report,  that  will  show  that 
we  are  now  precisely  where  we  were  in  1805.  Spain  concedes  noth 
ing;  the  United  States  relaxes  nothing.  Spain  would  cede  the  Flori- 
das  for  the  Territory  of  Louisiana  west  of  a  line  a  few  miles  west  of, 
and  corresponding  with  the  Mississippi.  This  we  decline,  and  Spain 
is  told  that  when  she  shall  offer  a  more  reasonable  arrangement,  the 
United  States  will  receive  and  consider  it.  In  this  state  of  things, 
England  announced  that  she  had  been  desired  by  Spain  to  mediate 
between  her  and  us;  that  she  had  answered,  that  to  do  so  she  must 
also  be  asked  by  us.  To  this  communication  England  has  been  in 
formed  that  we  decline  her  mediation,  as  we  shall  do  the  mediation 
of  any  other  power, — this  claim  is  added  to  preclude  a  like  offer  from 
Russia. 

The  South  American  question  is  assuming  new  interest.  Rus 
sia  has  sold  four  ships  of  the  line  and  three  or  four  frigates  to  Spain ; 
and  the  money  that  England  is  said  to  have  engaged  to  give  Spain 
to  accede  to  the  abolition  of  the  African  slave-trade  in  1820  is  to  pay 
for  these  vessels. 

The  sale  of  these  ships  was  not  known,  until  publicly  announced 
either  by  the  English  Ministers  in  Petersburg  or  Spain.  It  excited 
some  attention  in  England  and  Lord  Cathcart  was  ordered  to  ask  an 
explanation  of  the  Court  of  St.  Petersburg,  and  whether  Russia  was 
about  to  take  any  part  with  Spain  against  the  colonies.  The  answer 
was,  that  the  transfer  was  a  mere  fiscal  operation :  the  sale  of  ships 
not  wanted  for  money  much  wanted ;  and  that  Russia  would  take  no 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  189 


part  between  Spain  and  her  colonies ;  and  considered  the  sale  of  the 
ships  as  an  unessential  and  mere  fiscal  affair.  These  ships  are  des 
tined  to  accompany  a  grand  expedition  against  Buenos  Ayres ;  and  as 
Mexico  is  almost  or  entirely  tranquillized,  treasure  from  this  quarter 
to  a  great  amount  has  been,  and  is  in  the  course  of  being  remitted  to 
Spain,  with  which  ships,  soldiers,  and  the  other  things  requisite  for 
the  expedition  are  to  be  obtained  and  dispatched  so  as  to  reach  Buenos 
Ayres  toward  the  month  of  (194)  September  and  in  season  to  enter 
upon  their  operations  in  the  spring  of  that  hemisphere. 

While  all  these  things  are  going  on,  the  views  of  England  are 
understood  to  have  undergone  a  change  in  respect  to  the  dispute  be 
tween  Spain  and  Portugal.  The  latter  seized  upon  Monte  Video  on 
the  River  Plata.  In  the  course  of  the  last  summer  a  strong  note  was 
delivered  to  Portugal  by  the  five  great  powers,  which  was  nearly 
equivalent  to  a  demand  that  Portugal  should  deliver  up  Monte  Video 
to  Spain.  This  has  not  been  done;  and  England,  as  is  said,  is  now 
of  opinion  that  Portugal  ought  not  to  deliver  up  Monte  Video  until 
the  question  of  the  independence  or  submission  of  the  Spanish  colo 
nies  be  determined.  As  it  is  almost  indispensable  to  the  projected 
expedition  that  Spain  should  have  Monte  Video,  this  change  of  policy 
in  England  is  a  very  significant  proceeding. 

That  England  has  altered  her  views,  though  not  certain  is  very 
probable.  She  has  announced  to  our  government  that  she  has  been 
desired  by  Spain  to  mediate  between  her  and  the  colonies;  that  she 
has  as  yet  decided  nothing,  but  that  she  will  mediate  only  on  the 
basis  that  South  America  shall  be  commercially  independent,  that 
her  trade  shall  be  equally  open  to  all  nations,  etc.  England  has  prom 
ised  further  and  full  communication  on  this  subject  to  our  govern 
ment.  Now  such  a  mediation  terminating  successfully  is  to  Spain 
equivalent  to  the  loss  of  her  colonies. 

In  these  circumstances  if  Congress  take  the  subject  of  America 
into  their  consideration,  they  ought  in  prudence  to  postpone  any  de 
cision,  and  so  I  think  they  will  do. 

These  views  and  communications  of  England  seem  to  look  to  the 
breaking  up  of  the  great  European  alliances,  to  a  state  of  things  in 
which  England  may  be  more  and  more  excluded  from  continental 
connection,  and  more  and  more  impelled  to  look  to  arrangements  in 
America  and  with  the  United  States,  that  shall  prevent  their  associa- 


190  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


tion  with  those  who  may  hereafter  and  at  no  remote  day  combine 
against  her. 

But  this,  as  you  must  perceive,  is  mere  speculation.  I  cannot 
even  (195)  review  the  sheets  that  I  have  filled;  if  you  can  make  them 
out,  it  will  cost  you  I  fear  much  more  than  they  are  worth. 

Yours  truly,  R.  K. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  CHRISTOPHER  GORE. 

PORTSMOUTH,  March  5,  1818. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  During  the  last  four  weeks,  I  have  been  con 
stantly  engaged  in  the  business  of  our  Supreme  Court,  which  has 
occasioned  the  delay  in  my  answering  your  two  last  letters.  I  am 
confident  the  accommodations  for  your  boys  at  Judge  Peabody's  will 
prove  satisfactory.  I  had  not  supposed  it  would  have  been  agreeable 
to  him,  and  for  that  reason  probably  should  not  have  applied  to  him. 
If  my  children  go,  I  should  prefer  that  place  for  them  to  any  other 
in  Exeter.  I  am  not  yet  determined  as  to  sending  them.  We  have  a 
young  man  here  under  whose  instruction  they  are  now  doing  much 
better  than  heretofore. 

Of  late  I  have  heard  very  little  from  Washington.  I  do  not  think 
anything  of  much  importance  is  doing  there.  I  am  sorry  they  did 
not  pass  the  Bankrupt  Act.  On  the  whole  I  think  it  would  prove 
beneficial  to  the  commercial  interests  of  the  country  and  not  injurious 
to  any  other.  The  present  Congress  have  shown  as  much  ingenuity 
as  their  predecessors,  in  getting  up  great  debates  on  little  subjects. 
They  have  certainly  shown  a  very  notable  disposition  that  way  in 
their  proceedings  relative  to  poor  old  St.  Clair  and  the  other  Revolu 
tionary  worthies.  What  can  be  the  cause  of  this  extraordinary  zeal 
towards  these  relicts?  I  do  not  expect  Congress  will  do  anything  of 
much  importance  till  new  parties  shall  be  formed,  and  of  that  there 
seems  no  immediate  prospect.  In  most  cases  there  will  be  so  many 
conflicting  views  and  interests,  that  a  majority  will  seldom  be  found 
united  for  action  in  any  important  matter.  Perhaps  this  state  of 
apparent  apathy  and  indolence  is  not  to  be  regretted.  The  irritation 
and  excitement  of  past  years,  has  certainly  done  no  good  to  the  better 
side,  and  I  do  not  believe  their  (196)  continuance  would  do  any 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  191 


good  to  the  best  interests  of  the  country.  I  agree  with  you,  that 
Federalists  have  nothing  to  expect  in  the  way  of  appointments  to 
office  from  the  present  administration.  Were  this  a  main  object  with 
them,  as  it  certainly  ought  not  to  be,  there  is  no  probability  of  their 
soon  attaining  it  by  any  probable  change.  The  old  Federal  doctrines, 
as  first  delivered  by  the  true  apostles  of  that  faith,  will  never  again 
be  extensively  professed.  But  with  new  glasses,  I  think,  they  are 
coming  gradually  into  use.  The  truth  is,  you  ancient  apostles  ex 
pounded  your  doctrines  in  a  manner  ill-suited  to  the  corrupt  taste  of 
your  hearers.  You  flattered  none  of  their  appetites,  but  insisted  that 
they  must  love  and  practice  virtue  for  its  own  sake.  You  divided  the 
saints  from  the  sinners,  and  the  latter  being  always  a  majority  soon 
burst  open  "the  doors  of  honor  and  confidence."  It  is  not  probable 
they  will  soon  consent  to  have  these  doors  shut  against  themselves. 
As  there  is  no  chance  of  reclaiming  these  sinners,  I  do  not  think  it 
worth  while  to  be  constantly  preaching  to  them  or  quarreling  with 
them.  The  offer  of  England  to  mediate  between  us  and  Spain,  at  the 
desire  of  the  latter,  looks  as  if  the  misunderstanding  was  of  a  more 
important  nature  than  I  had  supposed.  I  think  with  you,  our  gov 
ernment  would  do  wrong  to  accept  the  mediation.  I  cannot  believe 
there  is  any  manner  of  danger  of  war  from  that  quarter.  The  motion 
of  Mr.  Forsyth  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  for  information  of 
the  state  of  the  negotiation,  can  be  intended  only  to  frighten  the  Don. 
Mrs.  Mason  desires  to  join  me  in  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  Gore. 

I  am  sincerely  and  affectionately  yours,  J.  MASON. 

CHRISTOPHER  GORE  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WALTHAM,  March  20,  1818. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  The  parties  at  Washington  seem  to  be  forming 
under  the  two  questions,  —  of  South  America  and  the  appropriation 
for  canals.  Clay  and  Forsyth  appear  to  put  themselves  forward  as 
the  champions.  (197) 

England,  in  her  sweet  and  amiable  disposition,  is  to  give  Spain 
four  or  five  hundred  thousand  pounds  for  her  consent  to  abolish  the 
slave-trade  at  some  future  day.  This  sum  is  to  be  paid  to  Russia  for 
the  ships  supplied  by  that  power.  Russia  was  asked  by  England  at 


192  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


Petersburg,  if  she  meant  to  depart  from  her  neutrality,  and  take  part 
with  Spain  against  her  colonies.  The  reply  was  definitely  no.  She 
only  merely  sold  the  ships.  England  will  mediate  between  Spain  and 
her  colonies,  on  the  condition  that  the  latter  shall  have  a  free  trade 
with  all  the  world  without  preference  to  any  part.  Such  a  mediation 
would  be  useless  to  Spain.  England  has  explained  herself  partially, 
and  promises  that  she  will  fully,  to  the  United  States. 

Spain  and  Portugal  are  at  variance,  as  you  know,  about  Monte 
Video.  Last  year,  as  you  will  recollect,  the  allies  delivered  a  strong 
note  on  this  subject.  England  now,  we  are  told,  has  taken  the  part 
of  Portugal,  and  wishes  her  to  retain  possession  of  Monte  Video,  at 
least  temporarily.  One  would  suppose  from  these  things,  the  alliance 
was  not  like  to  continue  forever. 

The  state  of  the  war  in  South  America  is  not  accurately  known. 
Spain,  we  understand,  will  make  one  great  effort  about  September 
next  to  conquer  her  rebellious  subjects.  If  she  fail  then,  her  case 
must  then  be  considered  desperate.  As  in  all  probability  the  colonies 
will  at  no  very  distant  day  be  free  from  the  metropolitan  country,  it 
seems  advisable  to  many  now  to  show  their  good  dispositions  in  order 
for  future  favor. 

I  regret  with  you  that  Congress  did  not  pass  a  Bankrupt  Law. 
Such  a  system  is  necessary  to  commercial  States,  and  for  that  reason 
I  presume  was  not  acceptable  to  the  South  and  West,  with  whom  our 
patriots  seemed  to  unite.     Our  best  regards  to  Mrs.  Mason. 
Sincerely  and  affectionately,  I  remain 

Your  friend, 

C.  GORE. 

(198) 
DAVID  DAGGETT  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  March  18,  1818. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  thank  you  for  your  letter  of  5th  inst.  Tom  Paine, 
speaking,  or  rather  writing  of  some  one,  says,  "  He  went  up  like  a 
rocket  and  came  down  like  the  stick."  That  is  evidently  true  of  a 
certain  great  man  from  Cyrus  King's  district.  He  has  attempted  as 
a  politician,  so  much  wisdom,  and  such  a  desire  to  be  admired  by 
everybody,  that  he  has  ceased  for  weeks  to  be  regarded  by  anybody. 
His  friends,  however,  still  uphold  him  as  a  lawyer,  but  in  the  Dart- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  193 


mouth  College  Cause,  he  sunk  lower  at  the  bar  than  he  had  in  the 
Hall  of  Legislature.  The  opinion  was  entirely  universal,  that  Web 
ster  rose  superior  even  to  Wirt,  (though  it  is  said  that  he  appeared 
very  well,)  and  infinitely  so  to  Holmes. a  The  great  question  of  in 
ternal  improvements,  seems  almost  jaded  down.  Clay  has  not  suc 
ceeded  at  all  at  this  game.  Monroe  has  gained  rather  a  triumph. 
Probably  it  will  not  be  agitated  again  at  this  session.  The  skirmish 
respecting  the  petition  of  the  patriot  agent,  proved  very  unfortunate 
for  the  opposition.  It  is  said  that  the  Speaker  will  certainly  propose 
that  some  of  the  Provinces  shall  be  acknowledged  independent,  and 
that  on  that  question  he  will  come  out  as  large  as  life  against  Mr.  M. 
He  will,  however,  be  foiled. 

The  furniture  question  will  make  some  noise.  It  seems  an  appro 
priation  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  has  been  greatly  exceeded,  and 
that  the  House  is  still  almost  empty.  I  tell  our  good  Republicans  to 
be  quiet ;  Republicanism  always  adores  show  and  parade  in  its  friends. 
Have  you  seen  a  history  of  "  Pinkney's  Embassy  to  Naples?1"  I'll 
send  you  a  copy  by  this  mail,  if  one  is  to  be  had.  (199)  It  seems  he 
undertook  to  be  very  cunning,  but  on  the  whole,  the  Italian  was  up 
to  him.  That  mission  was  indeed  disgraceful,  and  the  Senate  de 
graded  the  body  by  yielding  to  Madison's  impudence.  Its  issue  is 
such  as  all  men  of  forecast  predicted. 

I  hear  little  and  see  nothing  of  Adams.  He  declines  calling  on 
Senators,  I  understand,  and  his  wife  refuses  to  return  the  visits  of 
the  ladies.  He  however  gives  parties,  and  is,  I  am  told,  quite  splen- 

a  John  Holmes  was  a  famous  kaleidoscopic  politician,  and  a  power  in  the 
land  in  his  day;  45  years  old  when  he  attempted  to  reply  to  Webster  in  the  Dart 
mouth  College  case,  at  Washington;  born  in  Massachusetts,  1773;  graduated  at 
Brown  University,  1796,  with  Tristam  Burgess,  Dr.  Shurtleff,  and  other  celebri 
ties;  came  to  bar  in  1799,  and  that  year  settled  at  Alfred,  in  the  town  of  San- 
ford,  County  of  York,  and  that  part  of  Massachusetts  then  known  as  the  district 
and  now  as  the  State  of  Maine,  and  which  was  admitted  into  the  Union  two  years 
after  the  argument  in  the  Dartmouth  case.  Holmes  was  not  without  talent; 

1  "William  Pinkney,  the  former  ambassador  to  London,  appointed  in  Bayard's 
place  as  Minister  to  Russia,  had  been  also  commissioned  to  take  Naples  in  his 
way,  and  to  ask  payment  for  the  vessels  and  cargoes  formerly  confiscated  by  Mu- 
rat.  But  the  restored  Bourbon  Government  seemed  to  think  it  strange,  as  ap 
peared  from  the  correspondence  now  laid  before  Congress,  that  this  demand  had 
never  been  pressed  upon  Murat  himself  during  the  years  he  had  continued  in 


194  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


did.  Of  his  political  course  nothing  is  said,  except  once  in  a  while 
it  will  be  gently  suggested  that  it  is  out  of  the  question  as  to  his 
being  President.  We  have  a  valuable  acquisition  in  Burrill  and 
Crittenden.  Eppes  is  a  man  of  some  grit,  and  not  troublesome. 
Barbour  continues  his  ore  rotundo  eloquence.  "My  maxim,  Mr. 
President,"  said  he  the  other  day,  "is  fiat  justitia  mat  coelum,  and 
leave  the  balance  to  Heaven."  His  wife  has  been  here  with  him, 
and  is  a  very  excellent  woman,  as  many  of  the  Virginia  ladies  are. 
If  my  business  will  permit,  I  shall  visit  your  place  the  ensuing 
summer,  in  which  case  I  shall  certainly  call  on  you  and  Mrs.  M., 
to  whom  please  tender  my  regards. 

Yours  very  respectfully, 

DAVID  DAGGETT. 
JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  April  13,  1818. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  greatly  obliged  by  your  letter  (without 
date)  received  about  three  weeks  ago.  I  was  struck  with  your 
views  of  our  public  concerns,  some  of  which  were  entirely  new  to 
me.  I  think  the  present  session  of  Congress,  which  has  been  so 
peaceable  and  done  so  little,  must  terminate  in  worse  humor  and 
with  less  placid  prospects  than  it  commenced.  Storms  threaten 
sooner  than  I  expected.  I  had  anticipated  for  the  country  a  few  years 
of  quiet  rest,  during  which  the  strong  jealousies  and  angry  (200) 
passions  might,  in  some  measure,  subside.  I  still  think  a  great 

had  much  self-conceit,  always  cool  and  self-possessed ;  was  a  scheming,  busy, 
restless,  rollicking  politician.  Had  broad,  course  wit,  stinging  repartee,  more  than 
once  silencing  John  Randolph,  and  delighted  the  hoi-polloi,  and  kept  every  country 
bar-room  in  a  roar  by  his  questionable  stories,  but  was  out  of  place  in  Marshall's 
Court,  pitted  against  such  a  man  as  Webster,  as  it  was  possibly  to  be.  He  had 
neither  taste,  time,  inclination,  the  mentality  to  grasp,  prepare  and  argue  a  case 
like  this. 

power.  They  disclaimed  any  responsibility  for  the  acts  of  a  usurper  by  whom 
they  had  suffered  still  more  than  the  Americans;  and  notwithstanding  the  display 
of  a  naval  force  before  Naples, — the  new  seventy-four  Washington,  and  several 
sloops-of-war, — Pinkney  had  left  for  Russia  without  being  able  to  obtain  any 
recognition  of  the  claim." — Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  vi.  p.  610. 


1.     LAWRENCE  ABBOTT.  3.     JOHN   RANDOLPH. 

2.  HORACE  BINNEY. 

4.     JAMES  MADISON.  5.     ICHABOD  BARTLETT, 

6.     EDWARD  EVERETT.  8.     JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

7.  ANDREW  JACKSON. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  195 


majority  of  all  political  parties  are  desirous  of  remaining  at  rest. 
They  have  become  fatigued  with  party  dissensions,  and  expect  no 
benefit  from  their  continuance.  But  our  people  are  so  easily  ex 
cited,  that  a  little  matter  will  answer  the  purpose.  I  fully  agree  with 
you  that  the  President's  smiling  dispensation  of  promiscuous  com 
placency  must  soon  cease  to  have  any  effect.  He  may  probably 
soon  find  himself  involved  in  unexpected  turmoil.  Among  other 
difficulties  which  are  pressing  on  him,  I  do  not  see  how  he  is  to  dis 
pose  of  the  subject  of  internal  improvements  which  he  flattered  him 
self  he  had  got  rid  of,  with  great  adroitness,  by  requesting  Congress 
not  to  quarrel  with  him  about  it.  With  his  professed  opinion,  how 
can  he  assent  to  the  appropriation  of  money  for  this  object.  Under 
the  management  of  corporations  created  by  the  States,  as  seems  to 
be  intended  by  Congress,  this  indirect  mode  of  pursuing  the  object 
does  not,  as  I  think,  free  the  measure  in  any  degree  from  the  sup 
posed  constitutional  difficulty,  but  subjects  it  to  other  weighty  ob 
jections. 

Both  from  the  manner  and  matter  of  Mr.  Adams'  answer  to  poor 
Don  Onis,  I  infer  that  the  administration  has  no  fear  of  a  war  with 
Spain.  There  are  many  obvious  reasons  why  Spain  ought  to  avoid 
a  conflict  with  us.  But  if  her  councils  are  as  weak  and  mad  as  is 
generally  represented,  there  can  be  no  safe  reliance  on  her  prudence 
or  forbearance. 

I  have  been  somewhat  amused  with  Mr.  Pinkney's  statement  of 
the  result  of  his  mission  to  Naples.  I  wish  our  merchants  had 
their  rights;  yet  recollecting  the  degrading  manner  in  which  his 
renomination  was  pressed  on  the  Senate,  I  cannot  much  regret  to  see 
the  exact  fulfillment  of  your  prophecy.  The  bill  prohibiting  British 
vessels  from  their  colonies  from  an  entry  in  our  ports,  which  passed 
the  Senate  so  unanimously,  excites  considerable  attention  in  this  quar 
ter  where  that  trade  is  deemed  of  importance.  The  expectation 
is  that  the  British  will  succumb,  as  they  did  in  the  case  of  the  (201) 

26 

Plaster  Act  of  the  last  session.1  Should  this  expectation  be  disap 
pointed  and  the  trade  be  destroyed,  it  will  cause  much  clamor  among 

!An  act  approved  March  3,  1817,  forbidding  the  importation  of  plaster  in 
foreign   vessels   from  countries   whence  vessels  of  the   United   States   were   not 
allowed  to  bring  it. 
—14 


196  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


our  traders.  I  think,  however,  it  will  be  better  for  the  country  in 
the  end  that  the  trade  should  be  destroyed  than  to  be  carried  on  as 
it  now  is  by  the  exclusion  of  our  vessels. 

I  am  sincerely  and  faithfully  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MISS  MARY  E.  MASON. 

PORTSMOUTH,  April  19,  1818. 

MY  DEAR  MARY,  —  I  advised  you  when  at  home,  so  fully,  on 
what  I  thought  required  your  strict  attention,  that  it  may  seem  un 
necessary  to  enlarge  on  those  topics.  But  my  affection  for  you  and 
anxiety  for  your  welfare  induce  me  to  restate  a  few  ideas. 

To  arrive  at  great  excellence  in  any  of  your  pursuits,  you  must 
entirely  conquer  all  that  indolence  and  listlessness,  to  which,  either 
from  natural  disposition  or  habit,  I  fear  you  are  a  good  deal  subject. 
You  must  acquire  more  energy  and  force  of  mental  exertion.  This 
is  to  be  attained  by  a  vigorous  and  continued  exercise  of  the  powers 
of  the  mind.  By  such  exercise,  those  powers  will  be  greatly  in 
creased  and  sharpened.  None  of  your  studies  are  better  calculated 
for  this  purpose  than  composition.  I  wish  you  therefore  to  pay 
special  attention  to  it.  Write  long  pieces.  After  reading  and  think 
ing  on  the  subject  on  which  you  are  to  write,  express  your  ideas,  in 
the  first  instance,  rapidly  and  boldly,  as  they  occur.  The  great  ob 
ject  is  to  secure  the  ideas ;  this  must  be  done  without  much  atten 
tion  to  their  dress.  You  may  afterwards,  at  leisure,  dress  them  in 
the  most  appropriate  language  you  can,  and  if  necessary,  new-model 
the  sentences.  This  however  is  a  matter  of  minor  importance.  If 
you  have  good  strong  ideas,  you  will  soon  learn  to  express  them  well 
enough.  In  attempting  composition  you  must  not  suffer  yourself 
to  be  restrained  by  diffidence,  or  false  delicacy,  but  exert  boldly  (202) 
all  the  powers  you  have.  Never  encourage  with  yourself  a  low  and 
mean  opinion  of  your  own  talents.  This  is  often  the  effect  of  mere 
indolence.  In  most  pursuits,  a  firm  resolution  to  excel,  and  per 
severing  diligence,  will  secure  success.  Without  them  nothing  very 
estimable  ever  was,  or  will  be  attained. 

This  same  zealous  and  ardent  exertion,  with  resolute  persever 
ance,  is  necessary  for  your  success,  whatever  be  the  object  of  your 
pursuit.  Even  in  manners  and  external  accomplishments,  nothing 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  197 


can  be  done  without  it.  I  strongly  urge  your  attention  to  this,  be 
cause  I  fear  you  are  somewhat  deficient  in  this  particular.  I  hope 
the  plain  manner  I  use  will  not  hurt  your  feelings.  No  other  would 
be  likely  to  do  any  good. 

I  suppose  Alfred  has  given  you  all  the  family  and  town  news. 
Your  affectionate  father,  J.  M. 

RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

CRAWFORD'S,  April  21,  1818. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  yesterday  received  your  obliging  letter  of  April  13, 
in  which  you  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  one  from  me  without  date. 
Congress  adjourned  last  evening.  Except  laws  that  will  require 
the  payment  of  a  good  deal  of  money  out  of  the  treasury,  we  have 
done  nothing  that  is  mischievous,  as  a  great  many  private  money 
bills  did  not  pass  by  reason  of  the  delay  in  getting  them  sufficiently 
forward.  The  evil  is  not  as  great  as  a  longer  session  would  have 
made  it.  The  pension  to  Revolutionary  officers  and  soldiers  will, 
as  I  expect,  turn  out  much  greater  than  was  anticipated.  The  com 
prehension  of  all  who  served  for  the  term  of  nine  months  and  more, 
was  imprudent. 

I  was  inclined  to  have  confined  the  provisions  to  the  officers,  but 
could  meet  with  no  support.  The  soldiers  were  paid  high  bounties, 
and  clothed  and  fed.  Not  so  the  officers.  I  would  have  gone  as  far 
as  to  include  all  the  soldiers  who  were  in  the  Continental  army 
when  it  was  discharged,  but  this  was  discrimination,  and  (203) 
it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  militia  was  shut  out.  The  sailors  go 
in,  notwithstanding  their  prize  money. 

For  manufacturers,  we  have  raised  the  import  duty  on  iron  in 
bars,  from  nine  to  fifteen  dollars  per  ton,  with  a  correspondent  in 
crease  of  the  import  on  nails,  spikes,  and  iron  castings.  The  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  on  cotton  and  woolen  goods,  which  was  limited  to  1819, 
has  been  extended  to  1826,  by  which  time,  with  this  encouragement, 
our  own  manufactures  will  or  ought  to  be  so  established,  that  coarse 
cottons  and  fine  woolens  may  perhaps  be  prohibited  from  abroad. 

We  have  moreover  passed  a  navigation  law  that,  after  September, 
closes  our  ports  against  British  vessels  coming  from  British  ports 
closed  against  American  vessels.  This  is  a  strong  measure,  but 


198  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


called  for,  as  I  believe,  by  a  just  regard  for  American  navigation. 
We  are  independent  of  Great  Britian  for  supplies  of  sugar,  coffee, 
rum,  etc.  Whether  she  be  alike  independent  of  us  for  live  stock, 
provisions,  bread-stuffs,  timber,  lumber,  staves,  and  heading  is  to  be 
now  ascertained.  Perhaps  the  ports  of  Bermuda  and  the  Bahamas, 
which  are  open  to  as,  may  still  enable  the  English  ships  to  carry  on 
a  disproportionate  share  of  this  intercourse ;  if  so,  we  must  go  further 
when  we  see  the  operation  of  the  new  law.  Jt  must  be  made  effect 
ual  so  far  as  to  secure  to  us  an  equal  share  at  least  of  the  naviga 
tion.  If  England  still  continues  to  say  that  we  have  nothing  to 
give  her  for  admitting  out  money  and  ships  in  her  East  Indies; 
we  may  say  in  return:  Be  it  so  if  you  think  so;  but  if  you  will  not 
allow  us  to  go  and  buy  your  East  India  fabrics,  we  will  not  allow 
them  to  be  brought  by  you  to  our  country,  nor  indeed  will  we  allow 
them  to  be  used  or  consumed  by  our  people;  in  a  word,  the  letter 
and  spirit  of  the  law  (which  passed  with  great  unanimity,  and  which 
never  at  any  former  time  would  have  passed  at  all),  closes  our  ports 
against  British  vessels  from  any  British  port  or  place  closed  against 
American  vessels. 

I  gave  all  my  heart  and  all  my  strength,  with  all  my  hopes  of  suc 
cess  to  this  measure,  which  in  principle  is  incomparably  the  most  im 
portant  law  ever  passed  on  this,  and  perhaps  on  any  other  (204)  sub 
ject.  England  at  this  day,  by  the  extension  of  her  commercial  sta 
tions  throughout  the  world,  and  the  application  of  her  navigation  law 
to  this  extension  of  dominion,  has  effectively  monopolized  a  great  por 
tion  of  the  navigation  necessary  to  carry  on  the  commerce  of  the 
world.  As  respects  others  she  is  now  more  disproportionately  in  pos 
session  of  the  general  commerce  of  nations  than  the  Dutch  were  in 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century;  and  our  laws  must  check  her, 
as  her  navigation  laws  have  checked  and  broken  down  the  Dutch. 
Don't  understand  me  that  I  expect  or  desire  any  breaking  down  of 
England;  but  I  do  hope  that,  if  faithful  to  ourselves,  we  shall  oblige 
England  to  let  us  in  for  a  fair  share  of  the  general  trade  carried  on 
between  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Farewell. 

Yours,  R.  K. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  199 


JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  May  15,  1818. 

DEAR  SIR,— I  thank  you  for  your  letter  of  21st  April.  I  have 
understood  from  the  first  that  the  Navigation  Act  was  yours.  I  am 
sensible  of  its  importance,  and  am  glad  to  learn  that  it  accords  with 
the  public  sentiment  more  universally  than  could  have  been  ex 
pected.  To  attain  your  object,  probably  other  acts  regulating  the 
intercourse  with  certain  licensed  ports  will  be  necessary.  With  that 
view  the  favorable  inclination  of  the  public  opinion  to  the  measure 
is  very  important.  I  think  it  is  matter  of  deep  regret  that  we  have 
not  a  more  able  man  as  minister  at  London,  to  explain  our  objects 
and  prevent  irritation.3  From  the  importance  and  idle  loquacity  of 
the  present  minister  little  can  be  expected.  I  have  been  told  you 
may  have  a  re-election  to  the  Senate,  if  you  should  be  inclined  to 
accept  it.  I  most  ardently  wish  that  both  you  and  your  State  may  be 
so  disposed.  I  am  confident  that  a  great  portion  of  the  best  men  in 
the  country,  and  including  very  many  of  the  better  informed  Demo 
crats,  would  consider  your  absence  from  the  public  councils  a  national 
loss.  I  hope  no  ordinary  consideration  will  induce  you  to  (205) 
retire.  In  the  breaking  up  of  old  party  connections,  and  the  conse 
quent  unsettled  state  of  feelings  and  opinions,  it  is  impossible  to 
foresee  what  new  views  and  objects  may  be  speedily  presented. 

Among  orthodox  candidates  for  the  chief  magistracy  no  one  pre 
sents  a  character  eminently  entitled  to  public  confidence.  I  re 
ceived,  by  your  frank  from  Philadelphia,  an  English  paper  contain 
ing  a  letter  from  our  Governor  Plumer  to  Mr.  Bentham.  The  Gov 
ernor  certainly  did  not  intend  that  letter  for  a  newspaper.  I  think 
it  is  best  he  should  hear  of  it  before  he  makes  his  speech  to  the 
Legislature.  There  is,  however,  no  danger  of  his  doing  any  mischief 
in  this  matter.  It  is  impossible  to  make  our  Legislature  sufficiently 

a  Richard  Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  late  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States, 
was  our  Minister  to  England.  Born  1780,  died  1859.  He  was  a  native  of  Phila 
delphia;  graduated  at  Princeton,  1797;  admitted  to  the  bar,  1800;  Attorney- 
General  of  Pennsylvania,  1811;  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  1814-16; 
in  1817,  was  for  a  short  time  acting  Secretary  of  State,  and  was  that  year  sent 
to  England  as  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  where  he  remained  till  1825;  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  1825-29;  candidate  with  J.  Q.  Adams  for  Vice-President,  in 
1828 ;  was  sent  to  secure  the  money  left  by  James  Smithson  to  found  the  Smith 
sonian  Institution,  by  Jackson,  in  1836;  Minister  to  France,  1837-51. 


200  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


understand  Bentham's  impracticable  projects,  to  induce  them  to 
attempt  their  adoption.  His  Utopian  plans  are  too  deep,  as  well  as 
abstract,  to  attract  the  attention  of  any  of  our  Legislatures.  Mr. 
Bentham,  as  I  suppose  you  know,  addressed  a  circular  to  all  our  gov 
ernors,  after  having  been  rejected  by  Mr.  Madison  and  the  Emperor 
Alexander.  His  system,  as  far  as  I  understand  it,  is  the  supposed 
result  of  reason,  applied  to  the  nature  of  man,  without  any  regard 
to  previous  laws,  habits,  and  prejudices.  This  may  suit  metaphysi 
cians,  but  would  make  sad  work  with  everybody  else.  As  the  good 
people  of  Connecticut  are  about  forming  a  new  plan  of  government, 
I  should  like  to  see  them  try  an  experiment  with  Bentham's  system. 
I  am  sincerely  and  faithfully  yours,  J1.  MASON. 

RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JAMAICA,  L.  I.,  May  19,  1818. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  received  this  evening  your  obliging  letter  of 
the  15th,  and  as  my  frank  will  expire  to-morrow,  I  avail  myself  of  it 
to  make  you  my  acknowledgments,  and  to  say  a  few  words  on  the 
subject  of  my  continuance  in  the  Senate.  I  am  neither  informed,  nor 
curious  to  be  so,  whether  there  is  a  disposition  in  our  Legislature  to 
reappoint  me.  I  shall  neither  decline  nor  solicit  a  reappointment ; 
and  should  that  event  happen,  would  continue  to  take  my  seat  (206) 
so  long  as  my  own  comfort  and  convenience  would  permit  me  to  do  so. 

You  are  correct.  Ulterior  provisions  may  and  probably  will  be 
requisite  to  carry  the  Navigation  Act  into  effect.  I  with  you  regret 
that  we  are  without  an  able  man  in  England,  and  the  more  so  as  I 
have  little  or  no  expectation  that  England  will  view  this  law  in  the 
light  that  they  ought  to  consider  it ;  they  will  be  likely  to  look  back 
to  former  acts  intended  to  disserve  them,  which  we  have  revoked 
because  we  found  that  they  disserved  ourselves.  The  present  meas 
ure  rests  upon  this  proposition, — the  trade,  or  rather  navigation, 
must  be  reciprocal,  or  it  must  not  be  allowed  to  exist.  The  greatest 
difficulty  that  I  anticipate  is  in  the  regulation  of  the  intercourse  be 
tween  our  frontiers  and  the  contiguous  English  provinces.  The 
question  is  wholly  untouched  at  present.  We  shall  be  better  able 
hereafter  to  examine  it,  as  well  as  the  intercourse  that  will  be  car- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  201 


ried  on  with  the  colonial  free  ports.     Our  next  session  may  probably 
be  an  interesting  though  short  one. 

With  regards  to  Mrs.  Mason,  I  remain,  my  dear  Sir,  with  great 
regard,  Your  obedient  and  faithful  servant, 

RUFUS  KING. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  December  13,  1818. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — If  I  had  any  sufficient  apology  for  my  negligence 
in  having  so  long  omitted  to  write  you,  I  should  not  fail  to  avail  my 
self  of  it;  as  the  matter  is,  I  can  only  assure  you,  it  has  not  been 
occasioned  by  any  want  of  respect  or  affection. 

I  know  you  must  have  been  rejoiced  to  hear  that  Mr.  Gore  has, 
in  some  measure,  recovered  his  strength  and  health.  I  saw  him  in 
October,  when  he  appeared  much  better  in  all  respects  than  he  has  at 
any  time  since  his  sickness  at  Washington.  Mr.  Webster,  who  was 
here  a  few  days  ago,  says  he  continues  to  gain  strength  and  that 
his  friends  entertain  hopes  that  he  may  recover  the  use  of  his  (207) 
lame  knee.  If  he  does,  I  hope  he  will  not  again  attempt  the  severe 
exercise  he  formerly  used,  and  which  I  believe  was  injurious  to  him. 
Judge  Story  showed  me  last  autumn  a  letter  which  he  had  received 
from  your  friend,  Sir  William  Scott.  The  Judge  had  sent  him  sev 
eral  volumes  of  "Reports  of  Decisions  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,"  and  I  believe  a  volume  of  cases  in  the  circuit.  Sir 
William  speaks  of  our  courts  in  terms  very  civil  and  complimentary, 
and  expresses  his  satisfaction  at  seeing  certain  principles  acknowl 
edged,  the  application  of  some  of  which  by  him,  we  have  heretofore 
supposed  bore  rather  too  hard  on  our  neutral  rights.  He  invites  a 
continuance  of  the  correspondence,  with  which  the  Judge  is,  as  he 
ought  to  be,  much  gratified. 

You  had  at  the  last  session  subjects  of  more  interest  and  impor 
tance  under  consideration  than  had  been  generally  expected.  The 
same  is  likely  to  be  the  case  at  the  present  session.  The  concerns  of 
the  nation  are  increasing,  both  in  number  and  extent,  with  a  rapidity 
far  beyond  ordinary  calculation.  The  inquiry  authorized  by  the 
House  of  Representatives  into  the  doings  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 


202  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


States,  excites  considerable  interest  in  this  quarter,  where  all  feeling 
on  political  subjects  has  for  some  time  been  apparently  extinct.  You 
know  we  are  supposed  to  love  money  better  than  anything  else. 
I  do  not  perceive  in  what  way  that  inquiry  can  do  much  good. 
I  know  but  little  of  the  doings  of  the  Bank.  In  its  origin,  we  sup 
posed  it  was  intended  to  be  made  in  a  special  manner  subservient 
to  the  views  and  interests  of  its  patrons.  I  presume,  from  the 
stories  of  Bank  speculations  which  are  told,  that  object  has  been 
attained ;  this  evil  can  be  prevented  by  no  other  means  that  I  perceive 
than  a  radical  change  in  the  direction,  and  I  know  not  how  that  is 
to  be  effected,  except  by  a  change  in  the  ownership  of  the  stock; 
this,  if  any  remedy,  must  be  a  slow  one.  A  miserable  branch  was 
established  in  this  place  and  placed  under  the  management  of 
officers  and  directors  entirely  unsuitable  for  the  trust;  no  application 
was  made  to  anybody  here  worthy  of  confidence  to  name  proper 
persons  to  take  charge  of  it.  I  was  appointed  in  the  (208)  first  board 
of  directors,  at  whose  nomination  I  never  knew  nor  inquired.  Not 
liking  the  company  they  had  associated  me  with,  I  immediately  de 
clined  having  anything  to  do  with  it. 

From  the  "Proceedings  of  Jackson's  Court  Martial,"  it  seems 
the  two  unfortunate  men  he  executed  were  in  no  way  guilty  of  the 
charge  of  having  acted  as  spies.  If  so,  I  see  no  ground  on  which 
their  execution  is  to  be  justified.  I  fear  this  hasty  and  sanguinary 
act  will  be  found  to  be  entirely  unjustifiable. 

I  do  not  know  what  credit  to  give  the  newspaper  report,  that  a 
treaty  is  concluded  with  England,  embracing  all  the  points  in  dis 
pute.  From  the  notice  in  the  President's  message,  that  it  had  been 
agreed  to  extend  the  period  of  the  duration  of  the  present  conven 
tion,  it  was  not  expected  a  new  treaty  was  so  soon  to  be  entered  into. 
If  such  a  treaty  has  been  made,  I  presume  your  Navigation  Act 
must  have  been  greatly  conducive  to  it. 

a  Andrew  Jackson  (1757-1845).  A  Tennessee  soldier,  statesman  and  farmer. 
He  helped  frame  the  Constitution  of  Tennessee;  Representative  in  Congress, 
1796;  United  States  Senator,  1797;  Judge  Supreme  Court  of  Tennessee,  1798- 
1804;  hero  of  War  of  '12;  first  Governor  of  Florida;  again  United  States  Sena 
tor,  1823;  had  the  highest  number  of  votes  for  President  of  United  States,  but 
not  a  majority,  1824,  and  the  choice  was  thrown  into  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  J.  Q.  Adams  was  chosen;  President  of  United  States,  1829-37.  Had  unbend- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  203 


Mrs.  Mason  joins,  me  in  best  respects  to  Mrs.  King,  who,  we  are 
informed,  is  with  you  at  Washington. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  as  ever  sincerely  and  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

ing  will-power,  an  abhorrence  of  debt,  public  and  private,  and  during  his  presi 
dency  the  debt  of  the  United  States  was  fully  paid  in  1835;  disliked  banks,  and 
the  love  of  hard  money,  justice  and  his  country  were  ruling  passions.  Fought 
many  duels,  was  chivalrous  with  women;  retired  after  the  presidency  to  the 
"Hermitage,''  consisting  of  about  1,000  acres,  some  twelve  miles  out  from  Nash 
ville,  Tenn.,  where  he  died. 


204  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Correspondence  during  the  Years  1819  and  1820  —  Letters  to  and  from  Mr.  King, 
Mr.  Gore,  Mr.  Webster,  Dr.  Appleton,  and  Judge  Story,  —  Mr.  Mason  a  mem 
ber  of  the  New  Hampshire  House  of  Representatives  in  1820.  —  Report  and 
Resolutions  upon  certain  Resolutions  of  the  State  of  Virginia  upon  the  Ad 
mission  of  Missouri,  sent  to  the  Governor  of  New  Hampshire. 

CHRISTOPHER  GORE  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WALTHAM,  January  20,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — You  will  perceive  by  Governor  Brooks'  speech, 
or  rather  message,  that  he  has  been  induced  to  join  in  hosannas  to 
the  present  administration,  and  to  express  an  entire  confidence  in 
our  national  rulers.  This  may  be  presumed  to  have  arisen  from  a 
disposition  to  conciliate  Mr.  Monroe's  friends  to  the  claim  of  Mas 
sachusetts  for  the  reimbursement  of  her  expenses  in  the  last  war. 
Its  efficacy  I  doubt.  It  is  not  easy  to  discern,  if  the  Legislature 
respond  to  this  sentiment  as  was  intended  how  Massachusetts  can 
have  any  other  candidate  for  the  Presidency  at  the  next  election,  if 
power  continues  in  the  present  hands. 

Mr.  Adams  seems  to  have  taken  the  course  in  his  essay  on  the 
Seminole  war  and  the  murder  of  Ambrister  and  Arbuthnot, — for 
I  feel  it  to  be  this  crime, — which  his  enemies  would  have  pointed  out 
to  him  as  most  calculated  to  promote  their  views. l 

If  Mercer  does  justice  to  the  subject, —  and  I  am  much  inclined 
to  hope  and  believe  he  will, — I  think  the  noble  Secretary  will  writhe 

1  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister  were  two  British  subjects,  tried  by  court  mar 
tial  for  aiding  and  abetting  the  Seminoles  in  their  war  with  the  United  States  in 
1818.  Arbuthnot  was  condemned  to  death,  and  Ambrister  to  be  whipped  and 
imprisoned;  but  General  Jackson  ordered  them  both  to  be  executed.  This  affair, 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  205 


under  the  lashes  which  he  has  most  indiscreetly  and  unnecessarily 
courted.  Your  faithful  friend, 

C.  GORE. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  CHRISTOPHER  GORE. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  31,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  doubt  whether  Governor  Brooks'  lofty  praise 
of  Mr.  Monroe  will  have  much  tendency  to  procure  the  allowance  of 
your  militia  claim.  The  course  adopted  by  the  minority  in  your 
Senate  will,  in  my  opinion,  have  a  much  stronger  tendency  the  other 
way.  Had  your  Legislature  humbled  themselves  before  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  by  adopting  the  resolution  proposed  by 
General  King,  it  might  have  had  some  effect.  It  must  be  a  consider 
able  object  with  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  have  the 
question  concerning  the  command  of  the  militia  amicably  settled  in 
its  favor.  And  the  quiet,  humble  submission  of  Massachusetts, 
the  great  State  of  this  section  and  constant  leader  in  all  rebellions, 
would  go  far  to  settle  it.  As  long  as  it  shall  be  believed  at  Wash 
ington  that  you  may  be  brought  to  this  submission,  your  claim 
will  not  be  admitted  without  it.  Whether  you  would  not  by  such 
course  lose  more  in  character  than  the  money  is  worth,  ought  to  be 
considered.  I  think  the  best  way  for  the  Federalists  would  have 
been,  fairly  to  have  met  and  discussed  the  subject  in  Congress,  and 
if  rejected,  as  it  probably  would  have  been,  to  have  said  no  more  about 
it.  While  the  matter  remains  at  it  now  does,  the  claim  will  be  a 
standing  bribe  to  the  Federalists  to  degrade  themselves,  and  if  not 
effectual  for  that  purpose,  it  will  in  the  end  bribe  the  good  people 
of  Massachusetts  to  elect  rulers  who  can  adopt  the  proposed 
resolution  without  feeling  any  degradation.  I  agree  with  you  in 
opinion  of  the  character  of  General  Jackson's  conduct,  and  am 
glad  to  see  the  subject  taken  up  with  so  much  spirit  in  the  (211) 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States.  I  hope  the  debate 

which  caused  much  excitement  both  in  England  and  America,  illustrates  General 
Jackson's  iron  will  and  reckless  disregard  of  consequences,  as  well  as  the  un 
bounded  influence  which  he  had  acquired  by  his  successful  defense  of  New  Or 
leans.  Mr.  Adams,  to  the  regret  of  many  of  his  friends,  defended  General  Jack 
son's  course. 


206  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


will  terminate  in  a  censure  of  Jackson.  I  really  think  it  a  national 
concern.  The  barbarous  conduct  of  Jackson  and  his  court-martial, 
and  not  less  barbarous  doctrine  by  which  it  is  attempted  to  be  justi 
fied,  will,  unless  disclaimed,  disgrace  us  in  the  opinion  of  the  civil 
ized  world.  My  winter  courts  are  just  commencing,  in  which  I  ex 
pect  to  be  shut  up  for  the  ensuing  five  weeks.  I  do  not  greatly  dis 
like  the  labor  of  itself,  but,  unfortunately,  the  subjects  of  litigation 
in  our  courts  are  for  the  most  part  too  trivial  and  unimportant  to 
excite  much  interest.  Mrs.  Mason  and  Mary  desire  me  to  present  to 
you  and  Mrs.  Gore  their  kindest  regards. 

I  am  sincerely  and  faithfully  yours,          J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  31,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Last  summer  I  neglected  my  duty  by  omitting 
to  write  to  you.  In  the  first  part  of  the  present  session  of  Congress, 
I  did  write  to  you,  and  on  both  occasions  I  have  met  with  a  like 
reward  in  your  silence. 

The  discussion,  still  going  on  as  I  suppose  in  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives,  concerning  General  Jackson  and  his  court  martial,  ex 
cites  very  considerable  interest  in  this  section  of  the  country.  I  am 
of  opinion  that  Mr.  Adams  has  lost  credit  with  his  New  England 
friends,  by  his  bold  attempt  at  a  jusification.  I  think  it  unfortunate 
for  him  that  he  did  not  confine  himself  to  the  repelling  of  the  com 
plaint  of  Spain,  where  there  seems  to  be  much  ground  for  recrimina 
tion  at  least,  without  attempting  so  broad  and  entire  justification  of 
the  whole  transaction  in  all  respects.  I  see  no  ground  on  which  the 
execution  of  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister  can  be  justified,  nor  much 
in  the  circumstances  of  the  case  to  excuse  the  act,  which  must,  in 
the  common  opinion  of  mankind,  be  held  to  have  been  cruel  and 
barbarous.  I  presume  there  is  no  real  apprehension  that  Congress 
will  attempt  to  obtain  a  forfeiture  of  the  charter  of  the  (212) 
Bank  of  the  United  States.  The  stock  may  now  be  purchased  sev 
eral  per  cent,  below  par.  I  am  told  it  is  the  opinion  of  some  shrewd 
men  in  money  calculations,  that  it  will  soon  rise  again  above  par. 
It  would  seem  probable  this  will  be  the  case,  if  the  direction  gets 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  207 


into  better  hands,  unless  the  concerns  of  the  Bank  have  been  so 
badly  managed  as  to  occasion  a  great  eventual  loss.  I  know  you 
cannot  have  troubled  yourself  to  have  formed  any  opinion  on  this 
subject  as  to  money-making  projects,  yet  you  probably  have  an 
opinion  of  what  will  be  the  result.  If  so  I  shall  be  obliged  to  you 
for  it.  I  have  thought  of  investing  a  sum  of  money  in  the  stock  of 
the  Bank.  What  is  the  probability  of  a  change  in  the  Board  of  Di 
rectors  at  the  next  election. 

With  my  best  regards  to  Mrs.  King,  I  am,  as  always, 

Sincerely  and  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  4,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Since  my  arrival  here,  I  have  been  all  the  time 
in  court,  and  can  therefore  as  yet  say  nothing  more  than  I  have 
seen  and  heard  here.  Most  of  the  judges  came  here  with  opinions, 
drawn  in  the  College  cause.  On  the  other  side  a  second  argument, 
as  you  know,  was  expected.  Dr.  Perkins  had  been  a  week  at  Bal 
timore,  conferring  with  Mr.  Pinkney.  Mr.  Pinkney  came  up  on 
Monday.  On  Tuesday  morning,  he  being  in  court,  as  soon  as  the 
judges  had  taken  their  seats,  the  Chief  Justice  said  that  in  vacation 
the  judges  had  formed  opinions  in  the  College  cause.  He  then 
immediately  began  reading  his  opinion,  and,  of  course,  nothing  was 
said  of  a  second  argument.  Five  of  the  judges  concurred  in  the  re 
sult,  and  I  believe  most  or  all  of  them  will  give  their  opinions  to  the 
reporter.  Nothing  has  been  said  in  court  about  the  other  causes. 
Mr.  Pinkney  says  he  means  to  argue  one  of  them;  but  I  think  he 
will  alter  his  mind.  There  is  nothing  left  to  argue  on.  (213) 
The  Chief  Justice's  opinion  was  in  his  own  peculiar  way.  He  rea 
soned  along  from  step  to  step;  and,  not  referring  to  the  cases, 
adopted  the  principles  of  them,  and  worked  the  whole  into  a  close, 
connected,  and  very  able  argument.  Some  of  the  other  judges,  I 
am  told,  have  drawn  opinions  with  more  reference  to  authorities. 
Judge  Bell's  case  I  expect  to  come  on  in  two  or  three  days.  I  am 


208  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


alone  in  it,  and  must  do  as  well  as  I  can.  I  have  not  been  in  Con 
gress;  and  have  seen  very  few  members.  The  House  is  yet  in  the 
Seminole  war;  afterwards  comes  the  Bank,  and  near  to  that,  I  think, 
comes  the  third  of  March.  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  chance  for 
the  Bankrupt  Bill,  or  the  Circuit  Court  Bill,  this  session.  I  have 
not  seen  Mr.  King.  It  is  not  thought  here  that  he  will  be  re-elected. 
I  shall  write  you  again,  as  soon  as  I  have  acquainted  myself  with 
the  topics  that  float  in  the  Congress  circles.  Mr.  Bagot  returns  to 
England  in  the  spring.  Yours  truly, 

DANIEL  WEBSTER. 
RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

CRAWFORD'S,  February  7,  1819. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  received  last  evening  your  letter  of  the  31st  past. 
As  I  in  due  course  received  that  which  you  were  good  enough  to  write 
to  me  in  the  beginning  of  the  session,  I  have  had  no  reason  for  my 
omission  in  writing  to  you  in  return,  not  having  anything  of  interest 
or  importance,  except  what  the  newspapers  publish,  to  communicate. 
I  have,  except  the  little  tittle-tattle  to  you,  written  rarely  to  any  one. 

The  Jackson  debate,  which  has  been  going  on  for  three  weeks,  un 
less  terminated  last  night,  still  continues,  and  it  is  quite  likely  that 
it  will  be  also  taken  up  in  the  Senate,  though  altogether  against  my 
inclination.  I  misinterpret  very  much  the  true  meaning  of  this  de 
bate,  if  other  objects  than  to  criticize  and  censure  Jackson  have  not 
a  prevailing  influence  in  the  bringing  it  forward,  and  ascribing  to  it 
so  much  importance.  The  periodical  election  of  President  is  (214) 
without  doubt  the  only  plan  by  which  the  executive  could,  or  should 
in  the  actual  condition  of  the  country,  be  provided,  but  it  is  not  and 
cannot  be  doubted,  that  this  election,  except  perhaps  in  rare  in 
stances,  such  as  those  of  Washington  and  Jefferson,  —  will  at  all 
times  employ  the  vigilance,  awaken  the  hopes,  and  excite  the  passions 
of  a  large  portion  of  the  public  men  of  the  nation ;  and  in  a  special 
manner  will  it  have  this  effect  on  every  question  that  rouses  the  pas 
sions  or  excites  the  prejudices  which  always  exist  in  popular  govern 
ments. 

Whether  new  combinations  and  positive  efforts  will  show  them- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  209 


selves  at  the  next  election  is  more  than  I  can  determine;  but  I  think 
that  the  attempt  to  substitute  a  successor,  is  as  likely  to  occur  as  not 
to  occur.  This  must  be  left  to  the  future.  The  Bank  fever  —  for  it 
really  amounts  to  fever  —  is  quite  another  affair.  The  bad  admin 
istration  of  the  officers  of  this  company,  the  little  fulfillment  of  the 
expectations  and  predictions  that  the  projectors  of  the  bank  en 
couraged  and  made,  the  positive  difficulties  of  the  country  by  reason 
of  the  number  of  banks  and  the  excess  of  paper,  have  produced  a  very 
general  dissatisfaction,  and  the  disappointment  is  altogether  ascribed 
to  the  Bank  of  the  United  States. 

You  well  understand  how  very  few  men  have  any  correct  notions 
on  the  subject  of  money  as  a  currency;  and  will  therefore  easily  com 
prehend  the  confusion  of  ideas,  the  utter  ignorance  of  a  correct  the 
ory,  as  well  as  the  rash  and  intemperate  measures,  which,  in  the  pres 
ent  critical,  and  in  my  view  dangerous  condition  of  the  currency  may 
manifest  themselves.  According  to  what  I  hear,  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  are  without  any  guide  or  plan.  They  are  angry  and  in 
temperate;  and  the  difficulties  of  the  State  Banks,  especially  in  the 
interior  and  western  world,  prepare  most  of  the  members  from  these 
quarters  for  any  measures  which  would  put  down  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States.  Proposition  on  proposition  unfavorable  to  the  bank, 
without  a  word  from  any  one  by  way  of  excuse  or  support,  may,  - 
and  if  the  course  be  persisted  in,  probably  will  —  shake  the  public 
confidence,  and  create  a  run  on  the  bank  and  its  branches  (215) 
which  they  may  be  unable  to  meet.  If  the  Bank  of  the  United  States 
stop,  all  the  other  banks  south  of  New  England  must  stop  also,  and 
we  may  be  thrown  into  even  a  worse  condition  than  we  were  at  the 
close  of  the  war.  My  own  wish  has  been  that  the  stockholders  should 
be  convened ;  that  they  should  purge  the  direction  of  all  the  specu 
lators  and  stock-jobbers ;  that  they  should  apply  for  authority  to  re 
duce  their  capital,  which  might  be  done  without  difficulty  to  the 
amount  of  the  hypothecated  shares  (some  eight  or  ten  millions)  ;  that 
the  President  in  co-operation  with  the  stockholders,  should  name  four 
men  of  very  respectable  standing  as  the  government  directors,  and 
that  the  new  board  should  go  to  work  soberly,  diligently,  and  with  all 
the  information  which  they  possessed  or  could  acquire,  to  administer 
the  Bank  with  prudence,  and  so  that  it  might  in  some  satisfactory 
degree  fulfill  the  expectations  of  the  government  and  the  public.  But 


210  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


whether  this  or  any  other  good  course  will  be  adopted,  I  am  unable  to 
say;  or  whether  the  House  of  Representatives  may  not  disapprove 
every  attempt  to  correct  the  past  errors  and  mistakes  which  have  been 
committed,  is  beyond  my  power  to  predict.  I  say  nothing  of  the  Sen 
ate,  where  the  subject  is  scarcely  spoken  of.  The  Jackson  case  en 
gages  much  of  their  attention;  and  if  I  read  men  correctly  a  major 
ity  of  the  Senate,  some  from  one,  others  from  another  motive,  would 
pass  a  vote  of  censure  on  Jackson,  thereby  imparting  censure  to  the 
President,  and  his  minister  Mr.  Adams. 

You  will  see  the  new  treaty  with  England.  This  being  effected, 
Mr.  Bagot,  having  obtained  leave  of  absence,  is  soon  to  return  home ; 
as  the  Wellingtons  are  in  great  consideration  —  through  them  he 
may  expect  a  more  agreeable  mission. 

From  France  we  have  nothing,  and  I  believe  expect  nothing.  It 
is  said  Gallatin  desires  to  come  home ;  it  has  been  said  so  for  a  year 
or  more,  but  he  has  not  asked  for  leave. 

Erving  is  coming  home  from  Madrid.  He  asked  leave  of  ab 
sence  on  account  of  health  —  it  will  be  granted,  and  he  will  be  laid  by. 
(216)  Forsyth  will  succeed  him,  and  will  be  nominated  at  the  close  of 
this  session. 

Don  Onis  has  received  further  instructions,  by  which  he  is  au 
thorized  to  yield  the  Floridas,  the  United  States  taking  their  claimants 
off  from  Spain  and  engaging  to  satisfy  them ;  and  instead  of  the  line 
of  the  Sabine  from  its  mouth  to  its  source,  and  thence  north  to  the 
Missouri,  and  up  the  same  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  along  the 
Rocky  Mountains  north  or  south  to  the  forty-first  degree  of  latitude, 
and  on  that  parallel  to  the  Pacific,  heretofore  offered  by  Spain  as  our 
western  and  southern  boundary,  Don  Onis  is  said  to  be  now  author 
ized  to  take  the  Sabine  from  its  mouth  to  its  source,  thence  north  to 
the  Red  River,  and  up  the  same  to  certain  high  lands  far  west,  along 
the  same  northerly  to  the  Arkansas  River,  up  the  same  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  along  the  same  northerly  to  the  forty-first  degree,  and  so 
to  the  ocean  on  that  parallel. 

It  is  said  the  Western  people  here  object,  and  insist  on  going 
west  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  to  the  Colorado  River.  What  are  the 
views  of  the  Executive,  I  do  not  know;  but  I  have  not  the  smallest 
hesitation  in  the  opinion  that  we  ought  immediately  to  conclude  with 
Spain  on  this  boundary.  We  have  enough,  more  than  enough  of  west- 


DOLLY  MADISON, 
(Wife  of  James  Madison.) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  211 


ern  territory,  and  it  is  the  highest  imprudence  to  grasp  at  more. 
Having  settled  the  north  boundary  of  Louisiana  with  England,  our 
people  cannot  be  restrained  from  emigrating  further  and  further  to 
the  West.  Two,  three,  some  say  five  regiments  are  to  be  sent  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone  River,  which  constitutes  the  great  fork 
of  the  Missouri ;  this  fork  is  about  fourteen  degrees  of  longitude  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  which  is  about  thirteen  degrees  west  of  this  place. 
The  first  consequence  of  this  unnecessary  project  will  be  an  In 
dian  war;  and  it  will  be  the  most  formidable  Indian  war  in  point  of 
numbers  in  which  we  have  been  engaged;  but  as  these  Indians  are 
badly  armed,  and  their  country  an  open  one,  they  will  be  beaten  and 
the  regular  army  with  the  numerous  body  of  militia  will  take  a  lik 
ing  to  the  country,  which  they  will  begin  to  settle,  and  the  (217) 

28 

money  expended  by  the  old  States  will  enable  them  to  do  so  without 
great  inconvenience;  especially  as  the  Indian  war  that  will  be  long 
and  moderate,  will  continue  to  furnish  the  requisite  supplies.  The  de 
mands  and  strength  of  the  West  are  increasing  daily,  and  the  vigor, 
decision,  and  union  of  the  old  States  decrease  in  a  fully  equal  degree. 
I  could  give  you  an  interesting  potion  on  this  subject;  but  if  there  be 
none  who  care  for  what  is  going  on,  why  should  one  endeavor  to  ex 
cite  solicitudes  which  would  be  useless  and  therefore  should  not  be 
intended. 

I  am  at  the  end  of  my  paper,  so  farewell, 

RUFUS  KING. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February   15,   1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  determined  to  write  you  a  letter  before  I 
sleep,  although  this  doing  nothing  I  find  to  be  the  most  busy  employ 
ment  on  earth.  To  talk  is  so  much  the  practice,  that  in  the  few  caus 
es  I  have,  I  find  my  attention  wholly  engaged  in  listening.  We  have, 
for  instance,  an  equity  case  here  from  Massachusetts  District.  Mr. 
Bigelow,  Mr.  Amory,  and  myself  argued  it  in  half  a  day  in  Boston. 
It  comes  up  here  on  precisely  the  same  papers  and  same  points.  We 
have  now  been  two  whole  days  upon  it,  and  Wirt  is  not  yet  through 
for  appellee,  and  I  am  yet  to  close  for  appellant.  In  Mr.  Bell's  case, 

—15 


212  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


Mr.  Pinkney11  was  near  two  hours  in  opening,  and  full  four  in  the 
close.  In  that  case  we  have  no  judgment  yet.  I  think  some  impres 
sion  was  made  on  our  side,  and  I  have  hopes  of  the  issue,  but  know 
nothing  certain. 

I  believe  the  terms  of  a  treaty  are  nearly  settled  with  Don  Onis. 
United  States  to  have  Florida,  and  to  pay  our  own  citizens  their 
claims  on  Spain,  not  exceeding  five  and  a  half  millions.  Our  Govern 
ment  to  appoint  a  Board  of  Commissioners  to  adjust  their  claims. 
The  Western  boundary*  I  do  not  know;  suppose,  however,  that  the 
mouth  of  the  Sabine  on  the  Gulf,  and  somewhere  (218)  near  the 

a  William  Pinkney  (1764-1822).  American  statesman  and  one  of  the  lead 
ing  lawyers  of  the  United  States,  born  at  Annapolis,  Md.  It  was  the  opinion 
of  Judge  Joseph  Story,  George  Ticknor,  Jared  Sparks,  John  Marshall,  William 
Wirt,  Rufus  Choate,  Henry  Adams,  Alfred  Salem  Miles,  Judge  R.  B.  Taney, 
the  historians  James  Ford  Rhodes  and  John  B.  MacMaster,  that  Pinkney  had  no 
equal  as  an  orator  and  advocate  at  the  bar.  Says  Rhodes:  "Pinkney  had  served 
his  country  abroad  with  ability  and  honon,  but  he  had  won  his  greatest  renown  at 
the  bar.  When  Daniel  Webster  came  to  Washington  to  practice  in  the  Supreme 
Court,  Pinkney  was  the  acknowledged  leader  of  American  lawyers,  and  this 
surpassing  eminence  he  held  to  the  day  of  his  death,  although  his  position  began 
to  be  shaken  after  the  Boston  lawyer  had  made  the  great  argument  in  the  Dart 
mouth  College  case.  Perhaps  a  perception  of  Webster's  growing  power  and 
future  rank  led  Pinkney  to  say  to  a  friend  and  biographer  that  'he  did  not  desire 
to  live  a  moment  after  the  standing  he  had  acquired  at  the  bar  was  lost,  or  even 
brought  into  doubt  or  question.'  "This  great  lawyer  was  as  vain  of  a  handsome 
face,  accomplished  manners,  an  elegant  dress  as  he  was  of  his  legal  acumen. 
Clad  in  the  extreme  of  fashion,  he  preferred  to  be  regarded  an  idle  and  polished 
man  of  society  rather  than  to  be  looked  upon  as  what  he  really  was,  an  un 
wearied  student  (as  S.  G.  Goodrich,  in  his  Recollections  of  a  Life-time,  Vol.  2, 
399,  says:  'Always  preparing  his  speeches  with  the  utmost  care,  writing  out 
the  showy  passages,  and  learning  them  by  heart  —  a  member  of  Monroe's1  Cabi 
net  once  told  me  that  he  heard  him  about  5  o'clock  of  a  winter's  morning,  reciting 
and  committing  to  memory,  in  his  room,  the  peroration  of  a  plea,  which  he 
heard  delivered  the  same  day  before  the  Supreme  Court.')  rehearsing  in  private 
the  appropriate  gestures  and  rhetorical  points,  he  sought  to  convey  the  notion 
that  he  spoke  on  the  spur  of  the  moment." — James  Ford  Rhodes'  Hist.  U.  S.,  Vol. 
1,  34. 

Perhaps  no  better  pen-picture  can  be  cited  than  that  of  George  Ticknor's 
letters,  written  to  a  friend  in  Boston,  in  1815.  Mr.  Ticknor  heard  the  great 
lawyer  argue  on  separate  days  The  Frances  and  the  Nereide  cases,  before  the 
Supreme  Court,  in  Washington.  He  wrote:  "Pinkney  was  formed  on  Nature's 
most  liberal  scale,  who,  at  the  age  of  50,  is  possessed  with  the  ambition  of  be- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  213 


mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  on  the  Pacific,  are  the  termini.  How 
to  run  from  point  to  point,  I  know  not.  I  have  no  doubt  the  signing 
of  such  a  treaty  will  be  announced  before  Congress  rises,  though  at 
present  it  is  not  wished,  I  understand,  that  much  should  be  said  about 
it.  The  judges'  salaries  have  got  through  the  House.  Their  fate  in 
the  Senate  is  uncertain,  but  I  think  they  will  get  through.  The  heads 
of  departments  will  not  wish  to  trust  the  bill  back  in  the  House  again. 
The  Circuit  Court  Bill,  it  seems  generally  understood,  will  not  be 
brought  forward  this  session.  Upon  the  whole,  I  am  satisfied  it 
should  not  be.  Nothing  has  been  as  yet  done  with  the  Bankruptcy, 
and  its  seems  too  late  to  do  anything.  The  question  is  before  the 

ing  a  pretty  fellow,  wears  corsets  to  diminish  his  bulk,  uses  cosmetics,  as  he 
told  Mrs.  Christopher  Gore,  to  smooth  and  soften  a  skin  growing  somewhat 
wrinkled  and  rigid  with  age,  and  dresses  in  a  style  which  would  be  thought  fop 
pish  in  a  much  younger  man.  *  *  *  *  The  display  was  brilliant.  Not 
withstanding  the  pretension  and  vehemence  of  his  manner  —  though  he  treated 
Mr.  Emmett  (Thos.  A.),  for  whom  I  had  been  much  interested  yesterday,  with 
somewhat  coarse  contempt  —  in  short,  notwithstanding  there  was  in  his  speech 
great  proof  of  presumption  and  affectation;  yet,  by  the  force  of  eloquence, 
logic,  and  legal  learning,  by  the  display  of  naked  talent,  he  made  his  way  over 
my  prejudices  and  good  feelings  to  my  admiration  and  I  had  almost  said,  to  my 
respect.  He  left  his  rival  far  behind  him ;  he  left  behind  him,  it  seemed  to  me  at 
the  moment,  all  the  public  speaking  I  had  ever  heard.  With  more  cogency  than 
Mr.  Dexter  (Samuel),  he  has  more  vivacity  than  Mr.  Otis  (Harrison  Gray  Otis)  ; 
with  Mr.  Sullivan's  (George  Sullivan)  extraordinary  fluency,  he  seldom  or  never 
fails  to  employ  precisely  the  right  phrase;  and  with  an  arrangement  as  logical  and 
luminous  as  Judge  Jackson's,  he  unites  an  overflowing  imagination.  It  is,  how 
ever,  in  vain  to  compare  him  with  anybody  or  everybody  whom  we  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  hearing,  for  he  is  unlike  and,  I  suspect,  above  them  all.  He  spoke  about 
three  hours  and  a  half  (The  Nereide  case),  and  when  he  sat  down,  Emmett  rose 
very  gravely.  'The  gentleman,'  said  the  grand  Irishman,  in  a  tone  of  repressed 
feeling  which  went  to.  my  heart,  —  'the  gentleman,  yesterday  announced  to  the 
Court  his  purpose  to  show  that  I  was  mistaken  in  every  statement  of  facts  and 
every  conclusion  of  law  which  I  had  laid  before  it.  Of  his  success  to-day  the 
Court  alone  have  a  right  to  judge;  but  I  must  be  permitted  to  say  in  my  estima 
tion,  the  manner  of  announcing  his  threat  of  yesterday,  and  of  attempting  to 
fulfill  it  to-day,  was  not  very  courteous  to  a  stranger,  an  equal,  and  one  who  is 
so  truly  inclined  to  honor  his  talents  and  learning.  It  is  a  manner  which  I  am 
persuaded  he  did  not  learn  in  the  polite  circles  of  Europe,  to  which  he  referred, 
and  which  I  sincerely  wish  he  had  forgotten  there,  wherever  he  may  h^-e  learnt 
it.'  Mr.  Pinkney  replied  in  a  few  words  of  cold  and  inefficient  explanation, 
which  only  made  me  think  less  well  of  him,  and  impelled  me  to  feel  sorry  that  I 
had  been  obliged  so  much  to  admire  his  high  talents  and  success." 


214  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


Court  whether  the  State  Bankrupt  Laws  are  valid.  The  general 
opinion  is,  that  the  six  judges  now  here  will  be  equally  divided  on 
the  point.  I  confess,  however,  I  have  a  strong  suspicion  there  will  be 
an  opinion,  and  that  that  opinion  will  be  against  the  State  laws.  If 
there  were  time  remaining,  the  decision,  should  it  happen,  might  help 
through  the  bill.  The  question  between  Maryland  and  the  Bank,  is  to 
be  argued  this  day  week.  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  result.  Wirt  and 
Pinkney  still  talk  of  arguing  one  of  the  College  Causes.  On  our  side 
we  smile  at  this,  not  being  able  to  suppose  them  serious.  I  hope 
they  will  not  attempt  it,  as  it  would  only  lead  to  embarrassment  about 
the  facts.  I  should  have  no  fears  for  the  result.  I  am  anxious  to 
know  how  the  decision  is  received  in  New  England.  Our  New 
Hampshire  members  behaved  very  well  on  the  subject  of  the  judges' 
salaries,  nothwithstanding  this  decision.  Mr.  Swan  made  a  speech, 
and  it  is  said  a  very  good  one,  in  their  favor.  Holmes  opposed  them 
with  great  violence.  I  wrote  Judge  Bell  yesterday.  You  may  say  to 
him  that  nothing  has  occurred  to-day  indicative  of  a  decision, 

Yours  very  truly,  D.  WEBSTER. 

(219) 
RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  20,  1819. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Some  time  since  I  wrote  to  you  a  letter,  too  long 
and  too  unimportant  to  be  worth  your  deciphering.  I  now  add  a  few 
lines  to  say  that  the  treaty  with  Don  Onis  is  settled,  and  the  copies 
are  preparing  for  signature  on  the  22d,  when  it  will  be  laid  before  the 
Senate. 

Spain  cedes  the  Floridas  in  sovereignty,  and  in  consideration  of 
this  the  United  States  release  Spain  from  all  claims  by  American  citi 
zens  on  account  of  illegal  captures,  condemnations,  etc.,  etc.,  and  en 
gage  to  satisfy  these  claims  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  five  millions 
of  dollars.  A  commission  to  be  established.  The  commissioners  to  be 
appointed  by  the  President  and  Senate  to  liquidate  and  if  necessary  to 
apportion  these  claims.  The  boundary  to  be  as  follows  ,  Beginning 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Sabine  River  up  the  same  to  its  source,  then 
north  to  the  Red  River  and  up  the  same  to  the  one  hundredth  degree 
of  west  longitude,  thence  north  to  the  Arkansas  River,  and  up  the 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  215 


same  to  its  source  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  then  north  or  south, 
as  requisite,  to  the  forty-second  degree  of  north  latitude  and  along 
this  parallel  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  An  article  respecting  the  delivery 
of  seamen  deserting  from  the  vessels  of  the  two  parties  is  also  in 
serted  in  the  treaty.  The  settlement  is  one  of  much  importance,  as 
it  will  compose  the  temper  of  the  zealous  and  turbulent  men  of  the 
West  who  desire  and  would  gladly  engage  in  a  Spanish  war.  As  re 
spects  land,  the  Floridas  we  want;  of  lands  in  the  West  we  have  al 
ready  more  than  enough.a 

I  some  time  since  made  a  motion  to  abolish  all  credit  in  the  future 
sale  of  the  public  lands.  A  bill  for  this  purpose  has  passed  the  Sen 
ate,  to  take  effect  in  July  1820.  It  should  have  been  on  the  1st  of 
January  next,  and  I  am  in  hopes  the  House  of  Representatives  will 
fix  on  this  day. 

Already  a  debt  of  about  fifteen  million  dollars  is  contracted.  The 
debtors  are  scattered  through  and  indeed  compose  the  (220)  popula 
tion  of  four  or  five  new  States.  Nine  laws  have  in  annual  succession 
passed  to  postpone  payments  when  due.  A  tenth  is  on  its  passage, 
and  during  the  session  a  motion  was  made  in  the  Senate  to  strike  off 
the  interest  on  the  debt.  Postponement  is  matter  of  course,  abate 
ment  of  interest  would  follow,  and  ultimately  the  release  of  the  debt 
or  separation. 

I  consider  the  confining  all  future  sales  to  cash  payment  the  most 
important  law  that  has  been  passed  for  several  years. 

Very  faithfully  your  obedient  servant, 

RUFUS  KING. 

a  This  is  in  line  with  Webster's  opinion  of  the  West,  as  when  he  said,  upon 
a  proposition  before  the  Senate  to  establish  a  mail-route  from  Independence, 
Mo.,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River:  "What  do  we  want  with  this  vast, 
worthless  area?  This  region  of  savages  and  wild  beasts,  of  deserts,  of  shifting 
sands  and  whirlwinds  of  dust,  of  cactus  and  prairie-dogs?  To  what  use  could 
we  hope  to  put  these  great  deserts,  or  those  endless  mountain-ranges,  impene 
trable  and  covered  to  their  very  base  with  eter,nal  snow?  What  can  we  ever 
hope  to  do  with  the  Western  coast,  a  coast  of  3,000  miles,  rock  bound,  cheerless, 
uninviting  and  not  a  harbor  on  it?  What  use  have  we  for  this  country?"  At 
another  time  Webster  said  that  the  port  of  San  Francisco  would  be  twenty  times 
as  valuable  to  us  as  all  Texas.  (This  was  in  1845.) 


216  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  23,  1819. 

MY' DEAR  SIR,  —  I  received  your  yesterday,  enclosing  a  column 
of  the  "New  Hampshire  Gazette."  The  piece  was  probably  written 
either  by  -  -  or  the  —  — .  The  "Concord  Patriot,"  I  perceive,  is 
full  of  stuff  equally  bad  or  worse.  This  is  disreputable  to  our  part  of 
the  country,  and  on  that  account  is  to  be  lamented.  It  will  do  no  hurt 
here.  Depend  upon  it  the  fate  of  the  cause  is  fixed  in  this  court. 
Messrs.  Pinkney  and  Wirt  talk  of  arguing  one  of  the  other  causes 
when  we  reach  them.  Perhaps  they  will,  but  I  very  much  doubt  it. 
As  to  their  facts  which  they  say  are  new,  they  will,  I  apprehend,  be 
told  that  if  admitted,  they  would  not  alter  the  result;  and  in  the  next 
place  that  the  court  considers  the  recital  of  the  charter  as  conclusive 
upon  the  facts  contained  in  it.  I  hope  we  shall  get  to  the  causes  in 
about  a  week ;  and  although  Mr.  Pinkney  speaks  of  wishing  the  argu 
ment  to  be  next  year,  I  shall  endeavor  to  press  the  causes  through  to  a 
final  decision  now.  The  unanimity  of  the  court  gives  it  great 
strength ;  and  they  will  be,  if  I  mistake  not,  not  at  all  inclined  to  leave 
the  cause  under  any  doubt  whatever.  In  Judge  Bell's  case,  the  event 
is  exceedingly  doubtful.  My  belief  is,  there  is  a  division  on  the  bench. 
You  may  take  it  for  true,  at  present,  that  Ch.  J.,  L.,  and  J.,a  are  in 
favor  of  Bell;  W.,  D.,  and  (221)  S.,"  contra.  It  is  not  worth  while  to 
mention  this,  even  to  Mr.  Bell.  It  is  possible  that  further  reflection 
may  bring  a  majority  to  think  alike,  but  I  am  fearful  it  must  stand 
over  and  be  argued  again  before  Todd.  You  observed  the  fate  of  the 
Insolvent  Laws.  The  case  between  Maryland  and  the  Bank  is  now  on 
the  carpet.  I  said  what  belonged  to  me  yesterday.  Hopkinson  ans 
wered.  It  will  be  further  argued  by  Mr.  Pinkney  and  Mr.  Wirt  on 
our  side,  and  by  Jones  and  Martin  for  the  State;  of  the  decision  I 
have  no  doubt.  We  had  a  favorable  decision  yesterday  in  United 
States  vs.  Rice,  about  the  goods  imported  into  Castine,  while  the  Brit 
ish  held  that  town.  There  will  be  nothing  done  against  the  bank. 

•  "Ch.  J."    (Marshall);   "L."    (Brockholst  Livingston),  of   New   York;   "J." 
(William  Johnson),  of  South  Carolina. 

b  "W."      (Bushrod  Washington,    of    Virginia)  ;   "D."      (Gabriel    Duvall,    of 
Maryland);  "S."   (Joseph  Story,  of  Massachusetts). 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  217 


Lowndes'  speech  on  Saturday  shook  the  facts  of  the  report  essential 
ly.  I  do  not  believe  there  will  be  fifty  votes  for  doing  anything.  A 
treaty  is  concluded  with  Spain.  The  Floridas  are  ours.  It  will  be 
speedily  known.  The  treaty  is  now  before  the  Senate.  The  Senate 
are  very  likely  to  censure  Jackson.  Goldsborough  says  there  is  a  set 
tled  majority  for  doing  so.  Our  great  friend,  however,  will  be  the 
other  way.  It  is  said  he  was  consulted  on  the  subject  last  summer. 
Nothing  has  been  said  of  the  Judiciary  Bill.  It  will  probably  not  be 
stirred ;  yet  it  is  possible  it  may,  but  I  think  the  chance  very  small. 
I  have  something  to  tell  you  when  I  see  you  on  that  subject,  which 
will  make  you  laugh. 

I  beg  you  to  give  my  love  to  Mrs.  Mason  and  Mary,  and  all  the 
children.  I  begin  to  be  anxious  to  get  off.  A  month  is  as  long  as 
Washington  wears  well.  I  hope  to  get  away  by  the  5th  or  6th  of 
March.  Yours  very  truly, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

DANIEL   WEBSTER   TO   JEREMIAH   MASON. 

BOSTON,  April  13,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, —  ....  I  was  yesterday  at  Salem.  Judge  Story 
has  lost  a  daughter  (the  one  who  has  so  long  been  an  invalid,)  and 
Mrs  Story  is  quite  unwell  but  convalescent.  He  says  he  wishes  the 
(222)  circuit  had  commenced,  that  he  might  have  employment  and 
occupation.  As  to  the  College  Cause,  you  may  depend  on  it  that  there 
will  be  difficulty  in  getting  delay  in  that  case,  without  reason.  I  flat 
ter  myself  the  judge  will  tell  the  defendants,  that  the  new  facts  which 
they  talk  of,  were  presented  to  the  minds  of  the  judges  at  Washing 
ton,  and  that,  if  all  proved,  they  would  not  have  the  least  effect  on 
the  opinion  of  any  judge;  that  unless  it  can  be  proved  that  the  king 
did  not  grant  such  a  charter  as  the  special  verdict  recites,  or  that  the 
New  Hampshire  General  Court  did  not  pass  such  acts  ,as  are  therein 
contained,  no  material  alteration  of  the  case  can  be  made.  Our  course 
will  be  to  resist  the  introduction  of  evidence  —  on  the  ground  of  im 
materiality,  —  being  very  liberal  as  to  the  sort  of  evidence  which  we 
care  for,  provided  the  facts  proposed  to  be  proved  be  admissible.  Let 
Mr.  Bartlett  continue  to  understand  that  we  shall  resist  all  delay. 


218  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


You  may  take  another  thing  for  true,  —  Pinkney  sent  back  this  cause 
to  get  rid  of  it.  He  talked,  however,  and  blustered,  because  among 
other  reasons  the  party  was  in  a  fever  and  he  must  do  something  for 
his  fees.  As  he  could  not  talk  in  court,  he  therefore  talked  out  of 
court.  I  believe  his  course  is  understood.  Let  us  hope  for  the  best, 
and  by  all  means  oppose  protraction.  Yours  truly, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

N.  B.  To  take  away  pretense  of  delay,  suppose  you  tell  Bartlett 
that  we  shall  not  require  strict  proof  of  any  known  fact  if  the  court 
should  think  the  fact  material. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  August  1,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  trust  you  will  not  think  me  improperly  intru 
sive  when  I  beg  leave  to  offer  you  my  most  sincere  condolence  on  the 
occasion  of  your  late  severe  bereavement.1  I  should  have  done  (223) 
so  sooner,  but  I  felt  unwilling  to  break  in  upon  your  deep  affliction. 
I  know  that  your  habitual  mastery  of  your  feelings  and  discipline  of 
your  temper  which  I  have  supposed  you  possessed  in  an  extraordinary 
degree,  will  enable  you  much  better  than  anything  I  can  suggest,  to 
bear  with  equanimity  and  fortitude  your  present  sufferings  however 
grievous. 

If  the  sympathy  of  the  most  cordial  friendship  can  afford  you  a 
momentary  consolation,  be  assured,  my  dear  Sir,  you  have  it;  your 
uniform  kindness  to  me  excited  a  gratitude  and  friendship  which  I 
shall  continue  to  feel  while  any  feelings  remain. 

I  am  sincerely  and  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

REV.  JESSE  APPLETON,  D.  D.,  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

BRUNSWICK,  August  11,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  I  write  you  under  the  influence  of  those 
grateful  and  affectionate  feelings  which  your  kindness  in  general, 
particularly  that  which  you  have  recently  manifested,  tends  to  ex- 

1   The  death  of  Mrs.  King. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  219 


cite.  Conscious  that  during  the  years  of  our  frequent  intercourse 
we  have  introduced  much  more  seldom  than  we  ought  that  subject 
which  infinitely  more  than  all  others  concerns  us  both.  I  would 
make  some  amends  for  it  at  this  late  period  by  writing  with  freedom 
what  I  know  you  will  read  with  seriousness  and  candor. 

I  now  view  myself,  as  you  know,  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
eternal  world.  Infinitely  important  consideration!  I  can  therefore 
better  than  ever  judge  of  the  value  of  religion,  though  on  account  of 
its  increasing  apparent  magnitude,  find  myself  less  than  ever  able  to 
express  that  value.  My  present  object  is,  by  dear  Sir,  to  press  this 
subject  on  your  attention. 

Permit  me  to  remind  you  that  the  elevated  talents  which  you 
possess,  carry  with  them  ho  ordinary  portion  of  responsibility,  and 
render  religion  to  you,  both  as  it  respects  your  personal  security  and 
salvation,  and  your  influence  on  others,  really  of  more  moment  (224) 
than  it  is  to  ordinary  men.  Your  talents  and  general  deportment 
have  acquired  for  you  a  great  influence  with  the  public.  Should  this 
be  thrown  with  decision  on  the  side  of  religion,  how  happy,  in  all 
probability  would  be  the  result. 

Not  doubting  that  you  consider  the  Scriptures  as  the  word  of 
God,  I  do  most  earnestly  and  affectionately  entreat  you  by  humble  and 
devout  study  of  them,  to  ascertain  what  are  the  conditions  of  being 
saved,  and  further  to  bestow  on  the  subject  of  your  own  salvation 
that  attention  which  its  vast  importance  so  evidently  demands.  This, 
my  dear  brother,  is  only  an  appeal  to  reason,  —  only  a  request  that 
objects  may  be  regarded  according  to  their  real  worth.  We  have 
polluted  hearts,  which  must  be  changed  by  the  power  of  divine  grace. 

August  12.  —  Since  writing  what  goes  before  I  have  been  re 
minded  that  my  time  is  short,  as  I  have  raised  much  bloody  matter 
and  considerable  fresh  blood,  all  which  I  have  no  doubt  came  from  the 
lungs. 

Allow  me  to  suggest  that  though  at  present  you  are  in  great 
prosperity,  it  must  at  some  period  terminate.  Your  friend  Mr.  King 
is  depressed,  you  informed  me,  by  the  loss  of  his  wife.  Your  friend 
Mr.  Gore  is  laboring  under  a  painful,  perhaps  fatal  disease.  I  men 
tion  this  to  show  that  earthly  happiness  must  not  content  us,  it  will 
soon  vanish.  The  soul,  my  dear  brother,  and  eternity,  are  the  objects 
for  which  we  must  chiefly  provide. 


220  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


When  we  took  leave  a  few  days  since,  you  kindly  said,  "God  grant 
I  may  see  you  again,  and  in  better  health."  This  desire,  I  think  will 
not  be  granted,  but  God  will  do  well.  I  desire  humbly  to  submit  to 
his  will.  I  desire  humbly  to  throw  myself  at  the  Saviour's  feet,  dis 
claiming  most  emphatically  every  hope  of  justification  but  through 
his  all-sufficient  atonement.  Give  my  affectionate  love  to  Sister 
Mason  and  the  children. 

And  now,  dear  Sir,  God  grant  I  may  see  you  and  in  a  better 
world !  Your  affectionate  and  grateful  Brother, 

J.  APPLETON. 

29  (225) 

October  2. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  When  the  preceding  was  written,  viewing  death 
as  quite  near,  I  had  designed  that  the  letter  should  not  be  sent  till 
after  that  event  should  occur.  In  great  mercy  God  is  preserving  me 
and  rendering  me  on  the  whole  rather  more  comfortable  than  I  was 
at  Commencement.  Under  the  influence  of  the  same  affections  which 
dictated  the  letter,  I  now  send  it,  praying  that  its  contents  may  ap 
pear  as  important  to  you  as  they  do  to  me.  While  I  feel  an  interest 
in  anything  of  an  earthly  nature,  I  shall  not  be  insensible  to  the  wel 
fare  of  my  friends.  Any  information  concerning  yourself  and  fami 
ly,  especially  George  (who  promises  very  abundantly  in  a  kind  letter 
to  me,)  will  be  highly  acceptable. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  THE  REV.  JESSE  APPLETON,  D.  D. 

PORTSMOUTH,  October  11,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  I  am  fully  sensible  of  the  value  of  your 
kind  and  very  interesting  letter,  and  return  you  my  most  hearty 
thanks  for  it.  During  the  long  friendly  intercourse  from  our  first 
acquaintance  in  which  I  have  always  considered  myself  your  debtor, 
I  recollect  no  act  on  your  part  which  makes  so  strong  a  claim  to  my 
gratutude  as  the  present.  I  know  that  I  have  been  too  inattentive  to 
the  great  and  important  subject  of  religion.  I  have  occasionally 
thought  of  it  with  some  degree  of  serious  earnestness.  But  I  must 
admit  that  I  have  neglected  to  bestow  on  it  that  ardent  and  habitual 
attention  which  its  vast  importance  demands.  I  have  found  it  much 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  221 


easier  to  make  resolutions  than  to  observe  them.  I  hope  and  trust 
that  the  resolutions  which  I  shall  make  in  compliance  with  your 
friendly  solicitations  will  be  better  observed  and  have  more  perma 
nent  effects. 

When  I  parted  with  you  I  entertained  hopes  (though  I  confess 
they  were  not  sanguine)  of  your  recovery.  From  all  the  accounts 
which  I  have  since  seen  and  heard  my  hopes  are  considerably  in 
creased.  I  understand  your  physicians  do  not  think  it  expedient 
(226)  that  you  should  attempt  to  get  into  a  milder  climate  for  the  en 
suing  winter,  and  that  your  opinion  accords  with  them.  If  those  who 
are  most  competent  to  judge  continue  to  think  so  I  have  nothing  to 
say.  But  should  anything  occur  to  change  this  opinion,  I  hope  you 
will  not  permit  any  consideration  of  the  expense  to  affect  your  de 
termination.  That  may  certainly  be  provided  for  without  any  difficul 
ty. 

I  have  just  received  a  very  pressing  invitation  from  Mr.  Gore  to 
make  him  a  visit.  Mr.  King  is  now  with  him  at  Waltham.  I  am 
very  desirous  of  seeing  both  of  them,  and  intend  to  go  there  and  to 
Boston  this  week.  Mrs.  Mason  will  accompany  me. 

Since  he  has  been  at  home  George  has  done  quite  as  well  as  I 
had  any  reason  to  expect.  He  has  been  sufficiently  diligent  in  his 
studies  and  more  docile  and  tractable  than  I  expected. 

Mrs.  Mason  and  all  the  children  desire  to  be  affectionately  re 
membered  to  you. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  sincerely  and  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

DANIEL   WEBSTER    TO   JEREMIAH    MASON. 

BOSTON,  November  15,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Our  family  is  in  such  a  condition,  as  to  health, 
that  I  do  not  see  how  it  is  possible  for  us  to  visit  you  this  week. 
Our  little  girl  has  been  sick  and  is  now  not  well;  and  one  of  our 
domestics  has  a  settled  and  very  severe  and  dangerous  typhus  fever. 
Dr.  Warren  thinks  her  symptoms  better  to-day,  although  she  is 
yet  in  danger.  I  regret  this  disappointment  the  more  as  there  are 
some  topics  about  which  I  wish  to  confer  with  you.  The  principal 


222  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


one  is  the  Bank.  All  that  was  publicly  done  you  have  seen.  Mr. 
Sears  tells  me,  and  wishes  me  to  inform  you,  that  there  is  no  inten 
tion  of  discontinuing  the  New  Hampshire  Branch.  Perhaps  you 
will  not  think  it  worth  while  to  say  much  about  this,  however,  at 
present.  Our  people  here  are  making  exertions  to  collect  proxies,  (227) 
with  a  view  to  the  election,  the  first  of  January,  and  we  beg  you  to 
look  out  for  the  New  Hampshire  votes.  A  list  of  directors  was 
pretty  much  agreed  on,  at  least  for  the  Northern  States,  at  Philadel 
phia.  It  is  intended  that  New  York  and  Massachusetts  shall  have 
three  each :  New  York,  —  Bronson,  Gracie,  and  Bayard,  probably. 
Massachusetts,  —  Lloyd,  Silsbee,  and,  mirabile  dictu,  D.  W. !  This 
last  they  will  be  laughed  out  of  the  notion  of,  and  therefore  pray 
say  not  a  word  about  it.  Our  proxies  here  will  be  given  to  Mr. 
Lloyd  or  Mr.  Silsbee,  both  of  whom  will  attend  the  election.  They 
should  be  with  power  of  substitution,  lest  accident  should  happen. 
It  is  thought  here,  that  the  present  is  a  favorable  time  to  introduce 
a  proper  management  into  the  Bank,  and  I  think  you  will  be  of 
that  opinion.  Will  you  write  me  on  the  subject,  and  let  me  know 
what  number  of  votes  may  be  calculated  on  in  New  Hampshire.  It 
is  not  thought  probable  that  any  opposition  will  be  made  to  the 
ticket  which  will  be  proposed.  But  it  will  be  well  to  be  prepared 
against  surprise. 

Wednesday.  —  We  see  with  immense  pain,  the  annunciation  of 
the  death  of  Dr.  Appleton.  Few  men  have  made  a  short  life  more 
useful,  and  his  friends  must  derive  great  consolation  from  that  re 
flection. 

I  have  seen  Stuart.  He  says  the  pictures  shall  be  completed  this 
week.  I  think  they  may  be,  perhaps,  next. 

Let  us  hear  from  you.  Yours  as  usual, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  November  19,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  received  a  letter  yesterday  from  Mr.  Webster, 
saying  that  the  indisposition  of  one  of  their  children  and  the  sickness 
of  a  domestic  would  prevent  their  making  us  the  promised  visit  at 
this  time  in  company  with  you.  I  hope  this  will  not  be  the  occasion 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  223 


of  our  being  disappointed  of  your  visit  also.  You  have  (228) 
probably  seen  in  the  newspapers,  notice  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Apple- 
ton,  our  dear  friend  and  relation.  We  are  somewhat  depressed  by 
this  event,  but  shall  not  for  that  cause  be  the  less  glad  to  see  you. 
My  acquaintance  and  friendship  with  Dr.  Appleton  is  of  twenty 
years'  standing.  During  a  great  portion  of  that  time  our  intercourse 
was  very  frequent  and  intimate.  He  possessed  one  of  the  most 
powerful  and  best  ordered  minds  I  have  ever  met  with.  The  loss 
will  be  deeply  felt  by  his  friends,  and  I  think  extensively  by  that 
part  of  the  public  to  which  he  was  known.  With  best  regards  to 
Mrs.  Story  in  which  I  am  joined  by  Mrs.  Mason,  and  in  an  ex 
pectation  of  soon  seeing  you,  I  am  dear  Sir, 

Sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  MRS.  APPLETON. 

PORTSMOUTH,  November  23,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SISTER,  — .  I  most  sincerely  sympathize  with  you  in  your 
present  affliction.  I  am  fully  sensible  the  loss  you  have  sustained 
is  of  no  ordinary  magnitude.  I  feel  it  severely  myself.  It  is  felt 
deeply  and  extensively  by  the  public  at  large.  .  All  who  knew  him 
seem  to  unite  in  considering  the  death  of  your  dear  husband  as  a 
public  loss.  Although  your  friends  and  even  the  public  sympathize 
with  you  I  know  you  have  peculiar  cause  of  grief.  The  tenderest 
ties  by  which  human  beings  can  be  connected  are  dissolved,  and  he 
in  whom  your  sanguine  hopes  and  expectations  of  human  happiness 
were  centered  is  taken  from  you  in  the  midst  of  his  days.  It  ought, 
however,  to  be  matter  of  some  consolation  that  although  his  life 
was  short,  it  was  eminently  useful,  and  that  few  men  with  how 
ever  long  lives  have  done  more  for  the  benefit  of  mankind.  But 
your  chief  and  great  consolation  must  be  derived  from  that  holy 
religion  the  duties  of  which  he  so  ably  explained  and  which,  I  trust, 
you  well  know  how  to  practice.  It  would  be  unreasonable  to  expect 
that  one  afflicted  as  you  are  should  not  to  a  certain  extent  indulge 
their  sadness  and  grief.  You  must,  however,  remember  that  (229) 
important  duties  remain  for  you  to  perform,  and  that  you  must  not 
by  the  immoderate  indulgence  of  sorrow  disable  yourself  to  dis- 


224  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


charge  them.  I  know  your  sensibility,  and  mean  only  to  caution 
you  against  any  excessive  indulgence  of  your  feelings.  There  is 
danger  it  may  become  habitual  and  uncontrollable.  I  entreat  you 
also  to  indulge  no  extravagant  feelings  of  anxiety  for  the  situation 
of  your  children.  I  doubt  not  sufficient  means  will  be  found  for 
educating  and  providing  for  them.  You  will  certainly  be  specially 
careful  of  your  own  health. 

It  is  my  intention  to  come  and  see  you  some  time  in  the  course 
of  the  winter.  If  in  the  meantime  I  can  do  anything  for  you  I 
wish  you  to  mention  it.  Or  if  there  is  any  particular  reason  why 
you  wish  me  to  come  to  Brunswick  soon  I  will  endeavor  to  come. 
I  presume  you  have  no  thoughts  of  changing  your  present  situation 
before  spring.  With  kindest  regards  to  Mrs.  Ellis  and  the  children, 
in  which  Mrs.  Mason  desires  to  join  with  me, 

I  am  your  affectionate  brother, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  December  4,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  We  are  exceedingly  sorry  that  you  and  Mrs. 
Story  could  not  make  us  the  visit  which  we  had  anticipated  with  so 
much  pleasure.  This  disappointment  it  seems  must  be  set  down 
to  the  score  of  misfortunes  occasioned  by  your  having  bad  district 
attorneys.  You  say  you  will  yet  come  to  Portsmouth,  if  you  have 
a  day's  leisure.  I  really  hope  you  will.  I  am  very  desirous  of  see 
ing  you  before  you  go  to  Washington.  Be  so  good  as  to  drop  me 
a  line  a  day  or  two  before  you  come,  so  that  I  may  not  be  absent. 
I  shall  be  in  town  for  several  ensuing  weeks,  except  occasional 
avocations  for  a  single  day.  I  have  just  read  the  newspaper  ac 
count  of  the  doings  of  the  meeting  at  Boston  yesterday  on  the  im 
portant  subject  of  the  extension  of  slavery  to  new  States.  I  (230) 
suppose  you  were  there.  I  hope  such  meetings  will  be  held  in  all 
the  chief  places  in  New  England  and  the  north  part  of  the  United 
States.  We  are  to  have  one  here  next  Wednesday.  There  seems 
to  be  here,  as  I  trust  there  must  be  in  all  the  non-slaveholding  States, 
great  unanimity.  I  have  however  been  informed  that  Judge  Wood- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  225 


bury  has  expressed  doubts  of  the  constitutional  power  of  the  Legis 
lature.  With  great  esteem,  sincerely  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  December  15,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  thank  you  for  the  copy  of  your  speech  on  the 
Missouri  Slave  Question  which  you  so  kindly  sent  me.  I  am  glad 
to  have  this,  as  I  had  lent  and  lost  one,  previously  sent  me,  together 
with  the  doings  of  the  public  meeting  at  New  York.  You  have 
certainly  explained  the  subject  in  a  most  lucid  manner,  and  as  I 
think  put  at  rest,  as  far  as  argument  and  reasoning  can  do  it,  all 
doubts  as  to  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress ;  and  if  Congress 
has  the  power  it  would  seem  that  no  one  who  consulted  the  interest 
of  the  nation  at  large,  could  doubt  the  expediency  of  exercising  it 
on  the  present  occasion.  This  question  has  latterly  attracted  great 
attention  and  caused  considerable  excitement  in  the  public  mind  in 
this  quarter.  We  had  a  meeting  in  this  town  yesterday.  A  slight 
attempt  to  prevent  it  was  made  by  a  few  demagogues,  fearing  a  loss 
of  influence  from  a  union  of  parties  on  this  subject  and  also  by 
some  of  the  personal  friends  of  Mr.  Parrott,  now  a  Senator,  for  this 
State,  who  at  the  last  session  voted  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
on  the  wrong  side  of  the  question.  The  attempt  failed.  The  meet 
ing  was  well  attended,  and  included  nearly  all  in  any  degree  com 
petent  to  form  an  opinion  on  the  matter  under  consideration.  Con 
siderable  pains  were  taken  to  have  the  subject  in  some  of  its  im 
portant  bearings  understood;  the  result  was  a  unanimous  opinion, 
with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  dissentients  only,  that  (231) 
Congress  possess  the  power  and  ought  to  exercise  it.  Meetings 
are  notified  in  various  parts  of  this  State.  The  expression  of  pub 
lic  opinion  in  New  England,  will  probably  be  sufficiently  strong  not 
only  to  conform  those  of  our  members  of  Congress  who  were  pre 
disposed  to  act  right,  but  also  to  bring  back  some,  who  at  the  last 
session  were  wrong. 

I  hope  that  some  of  the  State  legislatures  which  now  are  or 
soon  will  be  in  session,  will  take  this  subject  into  consideration,  and 
expose  at  large  the  monstrous  immorality  and  consequent  national 


226  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


disgrace  of  permitting  the  further  extension  of  slavery.  This  can 
not,  as  you  intimate,  be  advantageously  discussed  in  Congress.  Can 
not  this  be  done  in  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  which  is  now 
in  session? 

I  am  with  great  respect,  your  faithful  and  obedient  servant, 

J.  MASON. 

CHRISTOPHER  GORE  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WALTHAM,  December  28,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  pleased  that  in  New  Hampshire  the  peo 
ple  have  expressed  their  opinion  on  the  Missouri  Question ;  and  in 
addition  to  the  expression  by  towns  and  districts,  in  Massachusetts, 
I  hope  our  Legislature  will  pass  resolutions  intimating  their  desire 
for  the  exclusion  of  slavery.  It  is  the  more  necessary,  as  some  of 
our  delegation  were  in  favor  of  the  bill,  without  the  amendment. 

The  appearances  are  much  in  favor  of  Mr.  King's  election  to  the 
Senate,  which  for  the  public  good  I  earnestly  wish  may  take  place, 
and  I  should  believe  that  the  attendance  at  Washington  would  pro 
mote  his  happiness. 

That  the  chief  may  not  have  told  all  the  truth  in  relation  to  Spain, 
is  very  probable,  and  though  I  never  gave  credit  to  all  that  Giles 
used  to  say,  I  think  it  likely  there  was  less  falsehood  in  his  assertions 
on  this  subject  than  on  many  others.  Our  boys  l  are  now  at  (232) 
home.  They  say  they  dined  on  Thanksgiving  Day  with  Governor 
Gilman. 

Congress,  we  are  told  by  the  public  papers,  contains  many  men  of 
business.  I  venture  to  predict  it  includes  more  men  of  talk,  and  they 
seem  to  have  many  subjects  of  great  fertility  on  which  to  try  the 
strength  of  their  lungs 

With  our  affectionate  regards  to  your  wife  and  daughter, 

I  remain  your  faithful  friend,  C.  GORE. 

1  Mr.  Gore's  nephews,  William  and  Edward  Payne. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  227 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  CHRISTOPHER  GORE. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  2,   1820. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  thank  you  for  the  volume  of  the  collections 
of  your  Historical  Society.  It  remained  in  Boston  till  last  week, 
together  with  your  letter,  for  want  of  a  convenient  conveyance.  I  do 
-  as  it  was  natural  for  you  to  suppose,  from  the  evidence  I  always 
exhibit  —  claim  decent  from  the  "tall  and  portly"  Captain  John 
Mason.  I  well  recollect  reading  the  narrative  contained  in  this 
volume,  many  years  ago,  in  Connecticut,  and  I  have  lately  taken 
some  pains  without  success,  to  obtain  a  copy  of  it.  Trumbull,  in 
his  "History  of  Connecticut,"  states  from  this  same  narrative,  very 
minutely,  the  circumstances  of  the  famous  Pequot  battle,  and  adds 
many  facts  tending  to  show  the  justice  and  necessity  of  the  war 
on  our  part.  My  brave  ancestor  certainly  used  harsh  means  to 
destroy  the  unfortunate  Indians.  But  if  the  danger  and  distress 
of  the  infant  colony  were  as  great  and  imminent  as  represented 
(which  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt),  an  apology,  if  not  a  justification 
is  furnished,  for  the  seeming  cruelty  and  inhumanity.  Whenever 
I  have  read  this  account  I  have  been  gratified  by  the  evidence  it 
furnishes  of  his  adroit  conduct  and  extraordinary  bravery.  But  I 
could  never  suppress  a  strong  wish,  that  he  had  been  able  to  effect 
his  object  in  some  way  more  consistent  with  humane  feelings  than 
that  of  burning  his  enemies.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  poor  In 
dians  have,  in  most  parts  of  the  country,  experienced  a  cruel  (233) 

30 

fate,  from  the  time  of  their  first  acquaintance  with  us.  You  prob 
ably  noticed  the  praise  bestowed  on  Uncas,  the  Sachem  of  the  Mo- 
hegans.  This  battle  secured  to  my  ancestor  the  admiration  and 
friendship  of  the  Indian  chief,  who  granted  him  several  very  exten 
sive  tracts  of  land,  in  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  and  these  grants 
entailed  on  his  descendants  a  set  of  lawsuits  with  that  colony, 
which  lasted  as  Trumbull  says,  seventy  years.  An  appeal  was 
carried  to  the  King  and  Council  in  England,  and  there  determined 
against  them,  a  few  years  before  the  Revolutionary  W;ar.  I  have 
often  heard  my  father  talk  of  this  land  claim  and  great  lawsuits. 
He  had  no  direct  interest  in  it.  It  belonged  to  an  elder  branch  of 
the  family.  But  I  suppose  he  expected  some  advantage  in  case  of 

—16 


228  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


success,  as  he  contributed  considerable  money  to  assist  in  carrying 
on  the  lawsuit,  which  he  said  was  finally  lost  for  want  of  good 
management.  When  you  have  read  this  long  story,  I  dare  say  you 
will  sincerely  repent  of  having  sent  me  the  book  which  has  led 
me  to  inflict  so  much  fatigue  on  you. 

I  agree  with  you,  that  it  is  desirable  that  your  Legislature  should 
express  their  opinion  on  the  Missouri  Question.  I  hope  the  Legis 
lature  of  New  York  will  also  do  the  same.  It  would  be  mortifying 
to  have  this  important  question  determined  against  us,  by  reason 
of  a  defection  of  our  own  members  of  Congress,  wheji  we  are 
clearly  right  in  principle,  and  have  so  great  an  interest  in  the  issue. 
And  there  is  danger  that  such  will  be  the  result,  unless  prevented 
by  a  full  expression  of  public  opinion  in  the  non-slaveholding 
States. 

It  is  said  the  wise  men  at  Washington  are  divided  in  opinion 
in  relation  to  Spanish  affairs.  Some  doubt  the  wisdom  of  execut 
ing  a  treaty  before  it  is  made. 

Virginia  is  certainly  determined  to  be  again  in  opposition  to  the 
General  Government.  If  her  new  batch  of  resolutions  pass,  I  hope 
they  will  be  immediately  answered  by  both  Massachusetts  and  New 
York.  That  which  instructs  her  representatives  and  Senators  in 
Congress  to  give  their  assent  to  no  laws  unless  strictly  conso-  (234) 
nant  to  the  principles  of  Mr.  Madison's  resolutions  of  1798-99,  exceeds 
in  arrogance  anything  ever  before  attempted. 

I  rejoice  to  learn  from  your  last  letter,  that  both  you  and  Mrs. 
Gore  are  on  the  recovery.  Mrs.  Mason  and  Mary  desire  their  affec 
tionate  respects  to  her  and  yourself. 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  truly  yours,  J.  MASON. 

CHRISTOPHER  GORE  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WALTHAM,  January  9,  1820. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  in  hopes  that  our  Legislature  will  express 
their  sense  in  a  very  decided  manner  on  the  Missouri  Question.  There 
is  some  strange  and  as  yet  some  unaccountable  conduct  among  our 
printers  on  this  subject.  I,  at  an  early  date  after  its  publication,  re 
ceived  a  corrected  copy  of  Mr.  King's  speech;  this  I  sent  to  Mr. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  229 


Webster,  saying  that  I  should  have  endeavored  to  procure  its  inser 
tion  in  the  ''Repertory,"  but  Mr.  Hale  had  at  several  times  declined 
to  publish  pieces  for  me  on  politics  and  literature  which  prevented  me 
from  offering  it  to  him.  Finding  that  W.  did  not  think  worth  while 
to  obtain  its  appearance  in  that  paper,  I  sent  it  to  the  printer  of  the 
"Centinel,"  who,  after  my  note  was  gone  from  me,  but  before  it  had 
reached  him,  requested  the  speech  that  he  might  print  it.  He  acknowl 
edged  my  note,  inserted  my  recommendation,  and  promised  to  have  it 
printed.  He  omitted  to  do  it,  and  says  the  omission  is  at  the  request 
of  friends  to  the  good  cause. 

The  argument  is  conclusive  in  my  mind,  and  entirely  free  from 
everything  that  could  embarrass  the  question,  or  excite  any  personal 
prejudices. 

Considering  this  strange  course,  I  am  prepared  to  meet  any  dis 
position  of  the  Legislature,  while  I  feel  the  subject  to  be  of  greater 
importance  to  the  character  of  the  nation,  and  the  political  power  of 
New  England,  than  any  before  Congress.  One  would  have  thought 
Virginia  possessed  her  share  of  power  in  the  United  States,  but  she 
admits  no  rival  near  the  throne,  and  is  determined  that  the  (235) 
construction  of  her  Legislature  shall  exclusively  control  the  Constitu 
tion. 

Mrs.  Gore  and  myself  are  both  in  better  health  than  when  I  last 
wrote  you,  and  unite  in  regards  to  Mrs.  Mason,  yourself,  and  daugh 
ter,  Yours  faithfully  and  affectionately, 

C.  GORE. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO   CHRISTOPHER  GORE. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  16,  1820. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  heartily  congratulate  you  on  the  election  of  Mr. 
King.  It  is  a  striking  instance  of  the  triumph  of  personal  character 
over  party  influence,  alike  honorable  to  him  and  beneficial  to  the  pub 
lic.  His  election  must  tend  to  moderate  the  spirit  of  faction  and  les 
sen  the  influence  of  demagogues.  I  trust  there  is  no  doubt  of  his  ac 
cepting  the  appointment.  The  manner  of  his  election  and  the  exigency 
of  the  times  leave  him  no  liberty  of  choice.  His  services  are  not  only 
of  great  importance  to  the  nation,  but  what  ought  to  weigh  much,  the 
nation  is  duly  sensible  of  it.  That  the  Boston  printers  should  omit  to 


230  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


publish  his  speech  on  the  Missouri  Question,  under  the  circumstances 
you  mention,  is  most  extraordinary.  Some  individuals  must  have 
controlled  them.  There  is  surely  nothing  in  the  speech  incautious  or 
unguarded,  and  I  think  with  you  that  the  argument  is  conclusive.  It 
has  in  truth  furnished  the  materials  of  all  the  public  discussions  on 
our  side.  The  Boston  memorial,  which  was  drawn  by  Judge  Story, 
was  evidently  and  as  he  frankly  states,  taken  almost  wholly  from  it. 
.  .  .  .  It  is  all  important  that  your  Legislature  should  unite  with 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York  in  expressing  their  opinion  on  this  great 
question.  I  see  Governor  Brooks  makes  no  allusion  to  it.  The  omis 
sion  of  Massachusetts  to  express  an  opinion,  on  the  ground  of  doubt 
as  to  the  right  of  Congress  to  prohibit  slavery,  or  on  the  ground  of  in 
difference  as  to  the  issue,  may,  and  probably  will  determine  as  suf 
ficient  number  of  votes  in  the  House  of  (236)  Representatives  to 
turn  the  question.  I  do  not  believe  the  advocates  of  slavery  will  gain 
anything  by  the  extraordinary  attempt  in  the  Senate  to  tack  this  sub 
ject  to  the  bill  for  the  admission  of  Maine.  The  attempt  is  entirely  un 
parliamentary,  and  will  be  resisted.  What  do  you  think  of  Mr.  Otis's 
attempt  to  defend  the  Hartford  Convention?  When  I  was  in  Boston 
last  autumn,  he  mentioned  his  intention  to  me,  and  asked  my  opinion 
of  its  expediency.  I  advised  him  not  to  make  the  attempt.  I  told  him 
that  transaction  was  passing  rapidly  out  of  recollection  and  would 
soon  be  forgotten,  and  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  revive  it  by  a  public 
discussion,  which  could  do  no  good  but  might  do  much  harm.  The 
event  will  show  whether  I  gave  him  good  or  bad  advice.  With  affec 
tionate  regards  to  Mrs.  Gore, 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  truly  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

CHRISTOPHER  GORE  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WALTHAM,  January  24,  1820. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  sincerely  rejoice  with  you  on  Mr.  King's 
election  to  the  Senate,  and  more  especially,  as  regards  him,  in  the  man 
ner  of  it.  He  wrote  me  that  he  should  set  off  on  Friday  last  for  Wash 
ington,  where  I  trust  he  will  do  much  good. 

You  have  known  the  cause  of  our  cooling    off  on  the  Missouri 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  231 


Question.  The  tears  of  the  gentlemen  to  whom  you  allude  on  his  re 
turn  home  operated  on  others,  and  letters,  as  I  am  told  from  Congress, 
absolutely  shut  the  press,  and  possibly  the  Governer's  mouth,  on  this 
interesting  question.  Messrs.  Quincy  and  Sullivan,  we  hear,  doubt  if 
they  have  not  been  too  ardent  and  too  explicit  in  the  expression  of 
sentiments  against  the  unqualified  admission  of  Missouri ;  and  the 
consideration  of  this  subject  in  our  Legislature  will  be  postponed  until 
it  can  have  no  effect.  All  are  alive  on  the  Hartford  Convention,  and 
it  is  not  impossible  that  instead  of  quieting  the  real  or  pretended  jeal 
ousy  on  that  measure,  new  bickerings  and  (237)  increased  acrimony 
between  Massachusetts  and  some  other  portions  of  the  Union  may  be 
the  result.  The  New  York  papers  speak  with  censure  and  not  a  little 
virulence  on  the  subject;  one  of  the  numbers  of  these  essays  hints  in 
strong  terms  that  Messrs.  Jay  and  others  did  or  recommended  the  like 
conduct;  but  these  men,  says  Mr.  0 — ,  are  forgiven.  Enough  seems 
to  be  said  to  irritate  and  provoke  retort,  but  not  enough,  if  it  were  pos 
sible,  of  which  I  doubt,  to  put  down  clamor.  With  deference  to  those 
who  wield  the  weapons  of  their  own  defense,  I  think  the  essays  carry 
the  mark  of  apology  and  have  the  language  of  supplication  in  such 
manner  and  to  so  high  a  degree,  as  will  produce  directly  the  reverse 
of  what  is  intended.  As  a  piece  of  the  like  fabric,  our  wise  men  in  the 
Legislature  have  been  trying  to  get  up  something  like  a  re-burial  of 
Governor  Strong  and  a  funeral  eulogy.  This  is  now  projected,  as  I 
learn,  by  those  who  declined  to  say  a  word  of  requiem  to  the  departing 
Governor  when  he  offered  his  farewell  speech.  Surely  then  was  the 
proper  hour,  and  why  it  was  not  embraced  must  be  sought  for,  not  in 
the  most  honorable  motives  of  the  human  heart.  We  are  told  it  would 
aid  much  in  the  same  cause,  which  is  supported  by  the  lucubrations  in 
the  "Intelligencer."  Thus  you  perceive  our  politics,  and  the  springs 
of  them,  so  far  as  they  are  delivered  to  me. 

Your  faithful  friend,  C.  GORE. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  CHRISTOPHER  GORE. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  31,  1820. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  thank  you  for  your  key  to  the  Boston  riddle.  I 
should  never  have  found  it  out  by  guessing.  It  certainly  places  your 
great  men  on  humble  ground.  Should  we  through  their  means  fail  in 


232  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


the  great  question  which  now  agitates  the  nation,  they  will  incur  an 
odium  that  will  be  remembered  long  after  the  Hartford  Convention 
will  have  been  forgotten.  And  from  present  appearances  I  think  there 
is  some  danger  that  this  will  be  the  case.  The  backwardness  of  Mass 
achusetts  to  express  an  opinion  will  be  (238)  felt  at  Washington.  I 
doubt  whether  we  have  any  men  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  of 
sufficient  weight  of  talents  and  character  to  preserve  our  majority 
there,  while  under  the  violent  pressure  of  a  cajoling  management  to 
which  they  are  exposed.  There  is  reason  to  fear  the  question  will  be 
carried  in  favor  of  slavery  by  New  England  votes.  I  see  nothing  in 
the  meek  apology  of  the  Hartford  Convention,  which  if  left  unan 
swered  would  effect  a  change  of  public  opinion  or  feeling.  Mr.  Gales 
promises  that  the  subject  shall  be  fully  discussed.  It  is  probable, 
however,  that  in  the  present  press  of  other  and  more  interesting  sub 
jects,  this  will  pass  off  without  exciting  much  notice.  You  doubtless 
observed  the  honorable  mention  of  our  Act,  for  raising  State  troops 
for  the  purpose  of  local  defense.  Do  you  remember  the  cold  indiffer 
ence  with  which  that  measure  was  at  the  time  received  in  New  Eng 
land  ?  I  believe  this  is  the  first  time  that  it  has  ever  been  noticed  here 
in  a  newspaper 

I  am  sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  April  15,  1820. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  thank  you  for  the  Congressional  papers  which  I 
have  received  by  your  frank.  I  had  hoped  to  see  the  speeches  on  the 
Missouri  Question  which  you  delivered  this  session,  but  I  begin  to  fear 
they  are  not  to  be  published. 

It  is  apparent  from  the  rude  and  illiberal  abuse  they  have  at 
tempted  to  cast  upon  you,  that  you  must  have  touched  the  slave-hold 
ers  to  the  quick.  I  trust  that  such  abuse  can  do  you  no  serious  injury. 
Notwithstanding  the  apathy  which  prevails  in  this  section  of  the 
Union  on  most  political  subjects,  the  discussion  of  that  question  ex 
cited  strong  feelings  and  made  an  impression  that  will  not  be  soon 
worn  off.  Its  bearing  on  political  power  is  at  length  in  some  degree 
understood.  The  arrogant  spirit  of  domination  exhibited  by  the  peo 
ple  of  the  South,  both  in  and  out  of  Congress,  has  offended  some  and 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  233 


alarmed  others.  Many  of  the  former  supporters  (239)  of  the  Virginia 
rule  now  lament  with  apparent  sincerity  our  domestic  disunion,  the 
acknowledged  cause  of  the  late  defeat.  If  this  tendency  of  public 
opinion  should  be  permitted  to  have  its  natural  course,  it  would  prob 
ably  produce  considerable  effect.  But  the  demagogues,  office  holders 
and  office  seekers,  sensible  of  their  danger,  are  doing  all  in  their  power 
to  counteract  it.  At  present  the  prevalent  feeling  is  that  of  mortifica 
tion  mixed  with  no  inconsiderable  degree  of  indignation  toward  those 
of  our  Representatives  who  are  believed  to  have  sacrificed  the  most 
important  interests  of  their  constituents  to  base  servility  and  mer 
cenary  hopes  of  personal  advantage.  It  would  seem  that  if  a  barrier 
is  ever  to  be  opposed  to  the  ambitious  projects  of  the  Southern  and 
Western  States,  it  must  be  done  soon.  And  in  what  way  can  that 
be  done,  while  they  command  all  the  patronage  of  the  Government? 
As  long  as  that  is  the  case  I  fear  they  will  always  be  able  to  secure  a 
majority  in  both  Houses  of  Congress.  If  so  our  only  remedy  is  to  look 
to  another  quarter  for  a  President.  I  hear  of  nobody  who  thinks  this 
can  be  attempted  with  any  prospect  of  success,  till  the  present  incum 
bent  shall  have  served  out  his  two  terms.  I  know  not  what  is  inferred 
from  General  Smith's  caucus,  but  presume  that  no  considerable  op 
position  is  expected  to  Mr.  Monroe's  re-election. 

The  good  people  of  New  England  have  been  much  disturbed  dur 
ing  the  past  winter  by  the  appearance  of  the  ghost  of  the  Hartford 
Convention,  so  adroitly  conjured  up,  by  Mr.  0—  in  his  defense  of  the 
character  of  the  defunct.  "When  I  was  in  Boston  last  autumn,  he  men 
tioned  to  me  his  intention  of  undertaking  that  defense.  I  tried  to  dis 
suade  him  from  the  attempt.  I  do  not  know  what  he  thinks  of  his 
success,  but  I  am  told  that  all  his  friends,  as  well  as  the  friends  of  the 
Convention,  are  heartily  sorry  that  he  brought  this  unlucky  subject 
back  from  the  oblivion  into  which  it  was  fast  sinking.  With  great  re 
spect, 

I  am  as  ever  faithfully  yours,  J.  MASON. 

(240) 
RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  May  4,  1820. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  It  is  some  time  since  the  receipt  of  your  obliging 
letter  of  the  15th  ultimo.  It  ought  sooner  to  have  been  acknowledged, 


234  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


but  my  attention  has  been  of  late  a  good  deal  engaged  in  watching  the 
course  of  the  New  York  election.  The  struggle  is  over,  but  who  cries 
victory  we  here  are  unable  to  ascertain.  My  wishes  have  been  on  the 
side  of  Tompkins,  believing  that  under  him  the  State  may  be  sooner 
composed  than  it  would  be  under  Clinton.  Our  session  is  near  to  its 
close.  Except  that  bill  changing  the  mode  of  selling  the  public  lands, 
nothing  of  importance  will  have  been  done,  though  much  has  been  dis 
cussed  which  stands  postponed  to  another  session.  Had  not  the 
friends  of  the  tariff  embraced  a  system  too  comprehensive  or  compli 
cated,  they  would  have  succeeded.  The  cotton  and  woolen  manufac 
tures  disconnected  with  their  associates  would  have  received  the  pro 
tection  asked  for,  but  the  bearing  of  the  bill  on  ship-building  and  navi 
gation  was  insufferable.  The  auction  and  cash  payment  of  duty  bills 
failed  also,  being  reported  as  parts  of  the  tariff  system,  as  it  was 
called. 

Our  Spanish  affairs  have  often  changed  their  phases  during  the 
winter;  and  the  expected  news  from  Spain,  since  the  convocation  of 
the  Cortes,  will  in  all  probability  postpone  any  definitive  measures  re 
specting  Florida,  about  which  less  solicitude  exists  than  formerly. 
Some  desire  the  province  of  Texas,  lying  along  the  ocean  and  west  of 
the  Sabine,  to  be  also  obtained ;  others  have  become  less  desirous  re 
specting  the  Floridas,  which  will  only  add  further  strength  in  the 
Senate  to  the  slave  States,  which  by  the  multiplication  of  new  States 
have  become  a  controlling  power  in  our  government,  though  a  minor 
ity.  I  have,  however,  no  doubt  that  ultimately  we  shall  possess  the 
Floridas.  In  respect  to  the  Missouri  debate,  in  which  I  took  a  part, 
which  became  the  theme  of  gross  misrepresentation  and  abuse,  al 
though,  as  the  newspapers  have  shown,  much  has  been  (241)  said, 

31 

the  argument,  whether  the  power  or  the  policy  be  the  inquiry,  re 
mains  unbroken  in  favor  of  the  restriction.  Indeed,  nothing  having 
the  character  of  a  law,  or  constitutional  or  statesmanlike  argument, 
has  been  offered  to  the  contrary,  and  in  my  conviction  none  can  be  in 
vented.  All  the  speeches  hitherto  published  have  been  prepared  by 
those  who  delivered  them.  There  was  no  note-taker  present  in  the 
Senate,  and  I  have  not  put  a  pen  to  paper  in  order  to  preserve  what  I 
said  on  this  occasion.  The  Presidential  caucus  was  a  mere  abortion. 
The  measure  was  adopted  more  by  the  vanity  of  General  Smith  than 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  235 


from  all  other  motives.  There  will  be  no  opposition  to  Mr.  Monroe, 
that  I  have  heard  of.  None  is  expected  even  from  New  York,  whose 
deputation  will  in  all  probability  be  anti-Clintonian.  If  Tompkins  has 
been  chosen  Governor  of  New  York  there  might  have  been,  and  even 
yet  may  be,  a  caucus  for  his  successor ;  but  I  consider  this  event  un 
certain  and  not  likely  to  be  definitely  ascertained,  at  least  in  favor  of 
Tompkins,  before  Congress  adjourns.  Rush,  of  Pennsylvania,  Mor 
row,  of  Ohio,  Clay,  of  Kentucky  and  my  brother,  of  Maine,  have  been 
spoken  of,  but  as  far  as  I  can  form  an  oponion,  it  would  be  that  no  per 
son  is  yet  soberly  thought  of  for  the  place  of  Vice  President  except 
Tompkins. 

Our  treasury  is  exhausted.  No  notice  was  personally  given  of 
its  condition.  The  Executive  removes,  but  dares  not  propose  to  im 
pose,  taxes.  The  reduction  in  the  military  appropriation  of  this  year, 
including  the  fortifications  and  ordnance  department,  exceeds  two 
millions.  This  financial  scheme  is  adopted  with  the  knowledge  that 
contracts  have  been  made  that  require  this  sum,  but  which  the  con 
tractors  will  not  receive  as  they  ought,  but  for  which,  with  damages, 
Congress  will  be  called  on  next  year.  The  stopping  of  the  Yellow 
Stone  Expedition  will  prove  a  neat  saving,  and  may  prevent  an  Indian 
war.  The  suspension  or  repeal  of  the  Pension  Law  will  be  another 
saving,  and  yet  the  government  must  borrow  from  two  to  four  mil 
lions  this  year,  and  the  prospects  of  the  next  year  are  still  more  alarm 
ing.  The  project  of  the  new  tariff  if  it  succeed,  must  reduce  the  im 
port  of  tonnage  duties  still  lower,  and  its  (242)  establishment  must 
produce  the  necessity  of  a  system  of  internal  taxes  which  the  Western 
States  have  no  inclination  to  impose.  A  motion  to  reduce  the  army  is 
before  the  House,  and  if  no  fears  respecting  Florida  prevent,  it  will 
prevail.  The  navy  will  follow  next  year.  So  we  go.  Excuse  this 
rambling  letter,  and  believe  me  very  truly, 

Your  respectful  and  faithful  servant, 

RUFUS  KING. 

RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JAMAICA,  L.  I.,  May  25,  1820. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  As  Virginia  has  appealed  to  the  respective  States  on 
the  Missouri  Question,  I  hope  that  your  Legislature  will  not  only  sus 
tain  the  appeal  but  give  judgment  in  the  cause. 


236  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


You  are  in  the  Legislature  and  will  of  course  attend  to  the  sub 
ject,  should  your  Governor,  in  imitation  of  Wolcott,  bring  it  before 
you.  I  have  no  wish  to  recur  to  the  subject  during  the  next  session  of 
Congress ;  we  shall  be  the  same  persons,  and  the  results  will  not  vary. 
Holmes  of  Maine,  who  is  to  come  to  the  Senate,  would  be  on  the  slave 
side;  and  New  Hampshire  has  been  divided.  Although  the  question 
is  not  immediately  to  be  discussed  again  in  Congress,  the  principles 
will  be  constantly  felt,  and  those  which  are  correct  want  strengthen 
ing  and  confirmation.  New  Hampshire  can  and  ought  to  lend  her 
support.  I  wish  that  your  Mr.  P.  would  retire  and  give  to  you  his 
place.  The  North  wants  force ;  numbers  which  are  mere  numerals  in 
politics  as  well  as  finance  are  not  to  be  relied  upon.a  On  all  controvert 
ed  points  in  every  national  question,  we  fight  militia  against  regulars ; 
and  as  in  war  we  suffer  grievous  defeats  until  by  more  concert,  which 
we  have  little  prospect  to  effect,  or  by  the  influence  of  pride,  which 
disdains  inferiority,  we  select  and  continue  our  best  men  in  Congress. 
No  alteration  can  be  accomplished,  but  we  shall  forever  be  governed 
by  the  minority  whose  interest  materially  differ  from  our  own  and 
from  those  of  a  majority  of  the  natives.  If  you  could  come  from  New 
Hampshire,  and  (243)  Webster  from  Massachusetts,  I  should  feel 
some  courage  and  confidence.  Think  of  these  things. 

With  great  esteem  and  respect,  I  am  always  and  truly  yours, 

R.  KING. 


a  "Numbers  which  are  mere  numerals  in  politics  as  well  as  finance  are  not 
to  be  relied  upon."  This  is  similar  to  Rufus  Choate's,  "Neutrality  in  any  sharp 
civil  dissention  is  cowardly,  immoral,  and  disreputable;"  or  James  A  Garfield's, 
"All  governments  are  party  governments;  and  until  the  real  millenium  comes 
there  will  be  parties  in  religion,  in  politics,  and  in  every  realm  of  thought;"  or 
Horace  Greeley's,  "That  which  styles  itself  'an  independent  journal'  is  inevitably 
a  fraud.  The  essence  of  its  profession  is  an  assumption  of  indifference  to  the 
ascendency  of  this  or  opposite  party,  which  does  not  exist.  In  a  free  State, 
whereof  the  people  are  intelligent,  no  journalist  is  or  can  be  indifferent,  and  an 
affectation  of  impartiality  necessarily  cloaks  some  selfish  and  sinister  designs;" 
or  R.  A.  Horr's  (a  Congressman  from  Michigan),  "An  independent  in  politics 
as  a  rule,  is  good  for  nothing;  he  is  always  on  both  sides  of  every  question,  and 
on  neither  side  of  any.  He  is  half  fish  and  half  woman — a  political  mermaid, 
too  much  woman  to  be  good  for  anything  as  a  fish,  and  too  much  fish  to  be  good 
for  anything  as  a  woman." 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  237 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

BOSTON,  May  30,  1820. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  hope  you  will  think  a  little  of  districting  your 
State  for  members  of  Congress.  I  deem  it  an  important  affair  in  the 
present  state  of  things  and  in  relation  to  probable  future  events. 
They  have  done  it  in  Vermont ;  and  I  learned  there  last  week  that  two 
or  three  of  their  most  considerable  men  might  perhaps  be  elected  in 
the  fall.  I  believe  I  suggested  to  you  also,  the  expediency  of  separat 
ing  the  Congressional  from  the  State  elections.  The  Massachusetts 
Legislature  assembles  to-morrow.  The  important  business  is  to  de 
cide  whether  there  shall  be  a  convention  to  amend  the  State  constitu 
tion,  and  to  elect  a  Senator.  As  there  is  one  Senator  from  Boston, 
the  other  must  come  from  the  country/1  I  suspect  it  will  be  Mills, 
George  Bliss  of  Springfield,  or  William  Baylies  of  Bridgewater.  It  is 
possible,  however,  it  may  be  a  merchant,  in  which  case  I  think  Mr. 
Reed  of  Marblehead  likely  enough  to  be  chosen ;  very  little  is  said 
about  it  at  present.  Our  courts  are  through.  Judge  Story  adjourned 
on  Saturday,  and  Chief  Justice  Parker  on  the  Saturday  before.  When 
your  legislative  labors  are  over,  I  hope  you  will  come  this  way  and 
play  a  little.  If  nothing  occurs  to  prevent,  I  intend  being  in  Concord 
one  day  about  the  20th  of  June.  I  have  promised  Mr.  Olcott  to  be 
there  if  practicable.  Your  consignment  of  books  and  potatoes  came 
safe  to  hand.  I  have  tried  the  latter  article  first,  and  find  it  good. 
My  appetite  for  the  first  is  not  at  present  quite  so  keen.  The  first 
Piscataqua  man  I  see  here,  I  shall  charge  with  the  conveyance  of  the 
two  books  I  promised  you.  Mrs.  Webster  desires  her  regards  to  Mrs. 
Mason  and  her  daughters.  Yours  truly, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

(244) 


a  Harrison  Gray  Otis  was  the  Boston  senator,  and  Elijah  H.  Mills,  of 
Northampton,  Mass.,  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of 
Prentiss  Mellen,  then  of  Portland,  Maine,  who  resigned  the  United  States  Sen- 
atorship,  May  15,  1820,  as  Maine  was  cut  off  from  Massachusetts,  and  became 
a  State  of  the  Union,  March  15,  1820.  Mr.  Mellen  resigned  to  take  the  Chief 
Justiceship  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Maine. 


238  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  June  4,  1820. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, —  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  favor  of  two  letters 
from  you :  one  from  Washington  and  the  other  after  you  had  re 
turned  home.  I  thank  you  for  the  kind  expression  of  your  wish  to  see 
me  again  in  the  Senate.  Many  considerations  concur  to  render  that 
situation  very  agreeable  to  me,  among  which  the  benefit  of  your  so 
ciety  would  not  be  esteemed  the  least.  But  it  is  for  the  present  entire 
ly  out  of  the  question.  Mr.  P.a  has  no  intention  or  inclination  of  re 
signing  a  seat  which  is  so  necessary  to  him  for  his  comfortable  sup 
port,  unless  he  can  secure  some  other  place  which  will  be  equally 
profitable,  of  which  I  do  not  know  that  he  has  any  prospect.  And  were 
he  to  resign,  it  is  not  probable  his  seat  would  be  offered  to  me.  And 
even  were  both  of  the  difficulties  removed,  others  of  a  personal  nature 
and  such  as  could  not  be  easily  surmounted,  would  still  remain.  Mr. 
Mellen  as  was  expected,  has  resigned.  Mr.  Webster  can  probably,  if 
he  pleases,  have  that  place.b  In  a  conversation  I  lately  had  with  him, 
he  seemed  to  think  that  he  could  not  immediately  forego  the  profit  of 
his  professional  business.  It  was  however  apparent  that  he  had  a 
strong  liking  for  the  situation,  and  should  it  be  offered  to  him  two 
years  hence,  I  doubt  whether  he  would  decline  it.  I  am  fully  sensible 
that  it  is  of  vital  importance  to  us  of  the  North  to  be  better  represent 
ed  in  Congress;  but  I  see  not  how  this  is  to  be  effected,  in  any  con 
siderable  degree,  as  long  as  we  remain  subject  to  our  apparently  in 
terminable  factions. 

The  good  Democrats  of  this  town,  by  accident  I  believe  happened 
to  elect  me  a  member  of  the  Legislature  for  the  present  year.  I  had 
no  previous  suspicion  of  their  intention.  The  chief  inducement  I  have 
to  attend  the  ensuing  session  of  the  Legislature,  is  to  see  that  the 
Virginia  Resolutions  on  the  Missouri  Question,  should  they  come  un 
der  consideration,  are  disposed  of  to  the  best  advantage.  There  will 
be,  as  I  fear,  no  small  difficulty  in  bringing  our  Legislature  to  (245) 

a  John  F.  Parrott,  of  Portsmouth,  was  one  of  the  senators  from  New  Hamp 
shire  at  this  time,  and  David  L.  Morrill,  of  Goffstown,  New  Hampshire,  the 
other. 

b  Mr.  Webster  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  and  took  his  seat 
March  4,  1827;  but  was  in  the  lower  House  of  Congress,  1823-27. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  239 


the  expression  of  any  strong  opinion  with  that  degree  of  unanimity 
which  is  necessary  to  give  it  effect;  the  dominant  party  has  been 
already  greatly  alarmed.  Many  of  their  influential  leaders,  among 
whom  are  the  judges  of  our  Superior  Court,  pretend  to  have  doubts 
of  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress  to  impose  the  restriction 
against  slavery.  The  true  cause  of  the  alarm  is  a  fear  that  a  schism 
may  be  produced  in  the  party.  The  leaders  are  constantly  recom 
mending  a  peaceable  acquiescence  in  the  decision  that  Congress  has 
made,  and  a  careful  abstaining  from  whatever  may  cause  irritation, 
provoke  local  jealousies,  etc. 

One  branch  of  our  Legislature,  the  Senate,  it  is  expected,  will  be 
entirely  Democratic,  and  at  least  three  fourths  of  the  House  of  the 
same  sort.  The  attempt  will  be  to  parry  the  question  and  avoid  the 
expression  of  any  opinion.  Much  will  depend  on  the  course  which 
shall  be  adopted  by  our  Governor,  and  it  is  impossible  to  foretell  what 
that  will  be. 

I  am,  with  the  highest  respect, 

Most  sincerely  and  faithfully  yours,  J.  MASON. 

DANIEL   WEBSTER    TO   JEREMIAH   MASON. 

BOSTON,  June  15,  1820. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  If  your  session  should  prove  as  short  as  you  an 
ticipate,  it  will  not  be  in  my  power  to  see  you  at  Concord.  The  circuit 
court  sits  here,  by  adjournment,  on  Monday,  which  I  must  attend. 
If  your  session  should  last  through  next  week,  I  shall  probably  be 
up.  I  have  been  endeavoring  to  do  something  about  an  answer  in 
Mr.  Olcott's  case,  but  have  made  very  little  progress  in  it.  I  wish 
he  would  send  me  a  full  copy  of  the  bill.  .Our  Legislature  is  wholly 
engrossed  by  local  subjects,  especially  by  the  project  of  a  conven 
tion,  which  it  seems  we  are  to  have.  I  have  inquired  of  Mills,  Dai- 
ton,  Lawrence,  and  others.  They  all  say  the  Virginia  Resolutions 
have  not  been  communicated  to  them!  !  Whether  they  were  sent 
last  winter,  or  whether  the  Governor  has  (246)  omitted  them,  or 
whether  Virginia  never  sent  them  at  all,  is  more  than  I  know,  and 
more  than  anybody  here  appears  to  know.  Mills's  election  is  prob 
ably  the  best  thing  that  could  be  done.  He  is  always  respectable,  and 


240  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


will  be,  I  think,  a  safe  man.  Local  causes  rendered  it  convenient  to 
choose  a  man  in  his  part  of  the  State,  and  he  is  generally  popular. 
I  learn  from  various  sources  that  you  make  quite  a  promising  legis 
lator.  I  am  glad  to  hear  it.  So  far  as  I  learn  particulars,  they  meet 
my  approbation.  I  like  your  idea  of  discontinuing  joint  committees, 
—a  great  barbarism — in  legislative  proceedings.  In  the  course  of 
time,  I  expect  to  hear  of  some  legislative  movements  about  the 
judiciary,  if  opinion  in  New  Hampshire  is  as  strong  on  that  subject 
as  it  is  represented  to  be  by  those  persons  whom  I  see  here  from  the 
State.  Our  convention  is  an  important  subject;  a  great  many  things 
of  consequence  will  be  discussed  in  it,  among  others  the  erection  of 
a  court  of  equity. 

Yours,  D.  WEBSTER. 

CHRISTOPHER  GORE  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WALTHAM,  June  25,  1820. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  23d  June  in 
stant  and  read  your  resolutions  with  much  pleasure.  I  think  them  ex 
cellent,  and  sincerely  wish  that  Massachusetts  had  as  well  preserved 
her  dignity  and  character.  Why  Governor  Brooks  did  not  present 
them  to  the  notice  of  our  Legislature,  I  cannot  say.  Thinking  he 
would,  I  desired  a  common  friend  to  request  of  Judge  Parker  that 
he  would  converse  with  his  Excellency  and  impress  on  his  mind 
what  was  due  to  his  own  character,  that  of  the  State,  and  to  the 
cause  of  freedom,  and  the  defense  of  our  own  political  power.  I 
could  not  see  the  Governor  myself,  and  although  I  have  inquired  of 
several,  I  have  never  attained  the  least  satisfaction  on  this  subject. 
There  is,  as  I  feel,  a  total  lethargy  on  all  our  national  concerns  in 
the  sentiments  and  conduct  of  those  who  direct  public  opinion  and 
the  public  councils.  The  people  on  the  Missouri  Question  are  a 

(247) 
great  way  in  advance  of  their  leaders.     Individuals  with  whom  I 

have  talked  on  this  question  (and  I  have  spoken  to  all  I  have  met 
and  are  conversant  on  such  topics) ,  acknowledge  its  importance,  but 
it  would  seem  that  some  fatal  spell  is  brought  to  operate  on  the 
Government  to  prevent  every  expression  of  sentiment,  or  only  at 
such  time  as  to  discover  our  opinions  when  we  are  sure  they  can 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  241 


have  no  influence  but  to  raise  the  ill  temper  and  contempt  of  the 
slave-holding  States. 

I  rejoice  that  you  went  to  the  Legislature,  and  that  you  have 
caused  the  State  to  honor  itself  and  support  the  cause  of  freedom. 

My  wife,  who  is  in  tolerable  health,  unites  in  affectionate  regards 
to  yourself,  Mrs.  Mason,  and  daughter. 

Faithfully  I  remain  your  friend, 

C.  GORE. 

RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JAMAICA,  L.  I.,  July  6,  1820. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  So  far  from  thinking  that  you  stopped  short  of  the 
true  point,  your  report  and  the  resolutions  of  your  Legislature,  with 
out  reference  to  the  domestic  considerations  to  which  you  refer,  are 
just  such  as  they  should  be  to  produce  the  reflections  that  may  lead 
to  reformation.  Your  argument  is  persuasive  as  well  as  convincing, 
and  the  suggestion,  that  your  scheme  might  be  considered  as  ac 
quiescence  in  the  slavish  construction  of  the  Constitution,  is  a  sea 
sonable  rebuke  to  Massachusetts,  whose  errors  and  repentance  are 
equally  deplorable.  States,  like  men,  who  fail  in  self-respect  are 
without  title  to  the  respect  of  others.  After  the  separation  of  Maine, 
Massachusetts  was  bound  to  retrieve  her  ancient  reputation,  and  to 
obtain  justice  she  must  show  the  world  that  she  merits  it. 

With  friendly  regards  and  great  respect,  I  am  dear  Sir, 

Your  obedient  and  faithful  servant, 

RUFUS  KING. 

(248) 

P.  S. — In  a  letter  last  evening  received  from  Mr.  Gore,  he  says 
that  he  is  told  that  the  Virginia  Resolutions  were  not  sent  to  Massa 
chusetts.  Has  Virginia  restricted  them  to  the  States  whose  Sena 
tors  voted  for  the  extension  of  slavery? 

I  wish  very  earnestly  that  you  would  settle  the  conclusion  firmly 
in  your  mind,  that  you  ought  to  form  motives  in  every  sense  hon 
orable,  and  give  me  leave  to  say  obligatory,  to  desire  to  return  to 


242  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  as  soon  as  it  may  be  in  your 
power  to  do  so.  The  highest  interest  of  your  country,  your  own 
reputation,  and  the  very  extraordinary  condition  of  the  representa 
tion  of  the  Northern  States,  all  unite  in  calling  for  those  sacrifices 
which  I  fear  you  have  not  sufficiently  undervalued. 

Mr.  Mason,  as  he  informs  Mr.  King  in  his  letter  of  June  24,  1820, 
was  in  that  year  chosen  a  member  of  the  New  Hampshire  House 
of  Representatives  from  Portsmouth.  He  was  not  a  candidate  for 
the  office,  and  was  wholly  unprepared  to  receive  at  the  hands  of  the 
Democrats,  who  were  a  majority  in  the  town,  an  honor  which  must 
have  been  gratifying  to  him  as  a  mark  of  their  respect  for  his  per 
sonal  character.  He  was  induced  to  accept  the  office  not  merely 
from  the  motive  mentioned  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  King, — a  wish  to  see 
that  the  Virginia  Resolutions  on  the  Missouri  Question,  should  they 
come  before  the  Legislature,  as  he  expected  they  would,  should  re 
ceive  proper  consideration,— ^but  also  from  a  desire  to  effect  some 
changes  in  the  administration  of  the  law  in  New  Hampshire  which 
his  experience  at  the  bar  had  shown  to  be  desirable. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  House  he  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  committee  on  the  judiciary,  and  from  the  journal  of  the 
House  appears  to  have  given  much  time  and  thought  to  his  legisla 
tive  duties.  Among  other  things,  he  reported  resolutions  which 
passed  into  a  law,  making  substantial  changes  in  the  judiciary  sys 
tem  of  the  State,  abolishing  the  court  of  common  pleas,  transferring 
most  of  its  jurisdiction  to  the  superior  court,  and  constituting  a 
court  of  sessions. 

32  (249) 

The  Virginia  Report  and  Resolutions  on  the  Missouri  Question 
were  sent  by  the  Governor  of  that  State  to  the  Governor  of  New 
Hampshire,  early  in  the  June  session,  and  by  the  latter  transmitted 
to  the  Legislature  for  their  action.  They  were  drawn  with  much 
ability,  and  set  forth  in  forcible  and  earnest  language  the  doctrines 
as  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  States  and  the  limited  powers  of  Con 
gress,  of  which  Jefferson  and  John  Taylor  of  Carolina  were  the 
leading  exponents  in  their  time.1 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  they  were  referred  to  a  commit- 

1  The  report  and  resolutions  may  be  found  in   the   House  Journal  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Legislature,  June  session  1820,  page  41. 


CHARLES  COTESWORTH   PINCKNEY. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  243 


tee  of  which  Mr.  Mason  was  chairman,  and  on  the  16th  day  of  June, 
he  presented  a  report  and  resolutions  thereon.  These,  alike  from 
their  essential  merit  and  the  enduring  interest  and  importance  of 
the  subject  on  which  they  treat,  are  thought  worthy  of  being  here 
reproduced : — 

The  committee  has  not  deemed  it  necessary  to  inquire  whether  it  would 
have  been  expedient  for  the  Legislature,  at  the  present  time,  to  express  its  opin 
ion  on  this  important  subject,  if  it  had  not  been  thereto  specially  invited.  But 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Virginia  has  seen  fit  to  address  to  the  Legisla 
tures  of  the  different  States  of  the  Union  certain  resolutions,  together  with  the 
reasons  on  which  they  are  founded,  giving  a  construction  to  important  provisions 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  defining  the  powers  of  Congress. 
The  forbearing  to  express  an  opinion,  when  thus  appealed  to,  might  be  taken  for 
an  acquiescence  in  the  construction  contended  for. 

After  having  carefully  examined  the  resolutions,  and  the  reasoning  offered 
in  their  support,  with  all  that  attention  to  which  they  are  entitled,  as  well  on 
account  of  the  source  whence  they  originated,  as  on  account  of  the  great  im 
portance  of  the  subject  to  which  they  relate,  the  committee  is  of  opinion 
that  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  contend  for  an  erroneous  construction  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  relative  to  the  powers  of  Congress,  which  if 
adopted  will  prove  highly  injurious  to  the  best  interest  of  the  Nation. 

Since  the  passing  of  the  resolutions  under  consideration,  the  subject  matter 
of  them  has  been  so  amply  discussed  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  as  to 
render  it  at  this  time  an  unnecessary  and  useless  labor  to  assign  and  illustrate 
at  large  the  reasons  why  this  Legislature  ought  not  to  give  its  assent  to  them. 

Notwithstanding  the  reasoning  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Virginia 
on  the  (250)  language  of  the  Constitution,  the  committee  has  full  confidence  that 
the  power  to  prescribe  the  prohibition  of  slavery,  as  a  condition  of  the  admission 
of  new  States  into  the  Union,  is  vested  in  Congress  by  a  fair  interpretation  of 
the  language  of  that  instrument. 

The  argument  chiefly  relied  on  is  that  the  prescribing  such  condition  by 
Congress  is  inconsistent  with  the  sovereignty  of  the  State  to  be  admitted,  and  its 
equality  with  the  other  States.  It  is  admitted  that  "Congress — if  the  applicant 
for  admission  into  the  Union  had  no  right  whatever  to  demand  it,  as  would  be 
the  case  of  an  independent  State  making  such  application  —  might  provide  for 
the  admission  of  such  State  upon  the  performance  of  precedent  conditions  not 
impairing  its  sovereignty."  If  so,  as  the  territory  of  Missouri  had  no  right  to 
demand  admission,  the  only  question  is,  Whether  the  right  to  establish  slavery 
within  their  respective  limits  is  essential  to  that  sovereignty  which  is  enjoyed 
by  the  different  States  of  the  Union  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States? 
For  evidence  that  such  right  is  not  essential  to  their  sovereignty,  an  appeal  might 
—17 


244  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


be  made  not  only  to  the  solemn  assertion  of  the  unalienable  right  of  all  men  to 
freedom,  announced  in  the  Declaration  of  our  National  Independence,  and  which 
is  adopted  among  the  fundamental  principles  of  many  of  the  State  governments, 
and  to  the  reiterated  acts  of  the  General  Government,  in  admitting  into  the 
Union  new  States  with  a  prohibition  of  slavery,  but  also  to  the  enlightened 
judgment  of  wise  and  good  men  of  all  countries. 

Slavery  is  prohibited  by  the  immutable  law  of  nature,  which  is  obligatory 
as  well  on  States  as  individuals.  The  establishing  or  permitting  slavery  by  a 
State  being  thus  morally  wrong,  the  right  to  do  it,  instead  of  being  essential  to 
its  sovereignty,  cannot  exist;  except  only  in  cases  where  slavery  having  been  al 
ready  introduced  cannot  be  suddenly  abolished,  without  great  danger  to  the 
community.  Under  such  circumstances,  it  must  of  necessity  be  tolerated  for  a 
time  as  the  solemn  means  of  self-preservation. 

This  painful  necessity  may  justify  the  temporary  continuance  of  slavery 
in  certain  States  of  the  Union,  where  it  now  exists.  But  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Committee  nothing  can  justify  the  unnecessary  extension  of  this  great  evil  to 
newly  formed  States. 

As  far  as  it  may  effect  the  sovereignty  of  a  nation,  no  material  difference  is 
perceived  between  the  case  where  it  surrenders  its  supposed  right  to  carry  on  a 
traffic  in  slaves  with  a  foreign  country  assenting  thereto,  and  the  case  of  its 
surrender  of  its  right  to  acquire  in  any  other  way  and  retain  slaves  within  its 
own  limits.  And  yet  several  independent  nations  —  and  our  own  among  others 
—  have,  without  any  suspicion  of  injury  to  their  rights  of  .sovereignty,  bound 
themselves  by  treaty  stipulations  forever  to  prohibit  that  monstrous  traffic.  Have 
they  thereby  lost  what  is  essential  to  their  sovereignty? 

If  from  the  generality  and  conciseness  of  the  terms  used  in  the  federal  Con 
stitution  any  doubt  remained  as  to  their  true  construction,  in  relation  to  the 
power  of  Congress,  in  the  particular  under  consideration,  such  doubt  would  be 
removed  on  (251)  examining  the  condition  of  the  territory  belonging  to  the  United 
States,  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  and  the  obligation  they 
were  then  under  to  form  the  same  into  States  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union. 

After  the  United  States  had  by  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  and  by  a 
cession  from  Virginia  and  certain  other  States  of  their  claims,  acquired  an 
undisputed  title  to  the  territory  northwest  of  the  River  Ohio,  they  passed  the 
ordinance  of  1787,  for  dividing  that  territory  into  States,  and  for  their  admis 
sion  into  the  Union.  This  ordinance  is  entitled  "Articles  of  compact  between  the 
original  States,  and  the  people  and  States  within  the  said  territory  forever  to 
remain  unaltered."  It  recites  the  objects  and  design  to  be  "for  extending  the 
fundamental  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  which  form  the  basis  where 
on  these  republics,  their  laws,  and  constitution  are  created;  to  fix  and  establish 
those  principles  as  the  basis  of  all  laws,  constitutions,  and  governments  which 
forever  hereafter  shall  be  formed  in  said  territory;  to  provide  also  for  the  es- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  245 


tablishment  of  States  and  a  government  therein,  and  for  their  admission  into 
a  share  in  the  federal  councils,  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original  States,  at 
as  early  a  period  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  general  interest."  It  then  pro 
vides  as  one  of  the  articles  to  remain  forever  unalterable,  that  "there  shall 
be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  in  the  said  territory."  The  State 
of  Virginia,  with  four  other  slaveholding  States,  assented  to  this  compact.  And 
Virginia  afterwards  expressly  ratified  it,  by  an  act  of  its  Legislature.  The 
States  mentioned  in  the  ordinance,  and  in  which  slavery  was  to  be  thus  forever 
prohibited,  were  still  to  be  admitted  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original 
States/  Of  course  the  prohibition  of  slavery  was  not  supposed  to  be  incom 
patible  with  their  sovereignty. 

The  United  States  having  thus  pledged  their  faith  and  bound  themselves  to 
admit  these  States  into  the  Union,  with  a  perpetual  prohibition  of  slavery,  it  would 
seem  to  be  impossible  that  the  Constitution,  which  was  soon  after  formed, 
and  certainly  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  ordinance,  should  not  have  been  in 
tended  and  understood  to  confer  on  Congress  the  requisite  power  to  perform  the 
obligation. 

In  further  proof  that  the  Constitution  must  have  been  so  understood,  might 
be  cited  the  act  expressly  confirming  this  ordinance,  among  the  first  doings  of 
Congress  under  the  Constitution.  In  conformity  with  this  understanding  of  the 
Constitution,  have  the  States  northwest  of  the  River  Ohio  been  admitted  into 
the  Union,  subject  to  a  perpetual  prohibition  of  slavery.  Most  of  the  other  new 
States  have  likewise  been  admitted  on  such  conditions  as  Congress,  deeming 
them  to  be  suitable  to  their  respective  situations,  has  been  pleased  to  prescribe. 

This  being  the  construction  being  given  to  the  Constitution  immediately  after 
its  adoption,  and  which  has  been  acted  upon  without  opposition,  and  acquiesced 
in  for  more  than  thirty  years,  it  was  not  to  have  been  expected  that  its  correct 
ness  would  at  this  late  period  have  been  drawn  into  question. 

It  must  be  recollected  that  this  contemporaneous  construction  of  the  Con 
stitution  was  made  by  those  who  had  the  best  possible  means  of  knowing  what 
was  its  true  (252)  intent.  Many  of  the  distinguished  members  of  the  Conven 
tion  which  formed  the  Constitution,  were  at  that  time  in  the  national  councils. 

Neither  these  States  themselves,  so  admitted  on  prescribed  conditions,  nor 
any  body  in  their  behalf,  have  heretofore  doubted  that  they  were  on  an  equal 
footing  with  the  original  States,  or  that  they  enjoyed  all  the  rights  essential  to 
their  sovereignty. 

The  Legislature  of  Virginia  attributes  this  early  construction  of  the  Consti 
tution,  so  uniformly  followed  by  the  General  Government,  and  acquiesced  in  by 
the  States,  to  the  score  of  misapprehension.  And  an  intimation  seems  to  be 
given  to  the  newly  admitted  States  that  the  conditions  and  stipulations,  on  which 
they  were  admitted,  and  which  were  solemnly  ratified  by  them,  are  of  no  bind 
ing  force.  The  dangerous  tendency  of  such  a  doctrine  is  too  apparent  to  need 
comment. 


246  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


The  Legislature  of  Virginia  admits  "that  this  subject  addresses  itself  very 
strongly  to  their  interest  as  well  as  their  feelings."  If  the  obviously  just  and 
long  settled  construction  of  the  Constitution,  in  a  particular  of  great  national 
concernment,  may  in  a  moment  of  excitement  be  set  aside  in  favor  of  supposed 
doubts,  raised  by  the  excess  of  ingenuity  of  reasoning,  no  ground  of  security  will 
remain  for  the  equal  rights  of  the  States;  and  the  foundation  of  the  Union  itself 
may  be  shaken. 

An  argument  against  the  power  of  Congress  to  prevent  the  extension  of 
slavery  to  new  States  is  attempted  to  be  raised  from  the  general  scope  of  the 
Constitution  and  from  the  nature  of  our  free  institutions.  The  Legislature  of 
Virginia  says,  "It  can  never  be  believed  that  an  association  of  free  and  independ 
ent  States,  formed  for  the  purposes  of  general  defense,  of  establishing  justice, 
and  of  securing  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  themselves  and  their  posterity,  ever 
contemplated  the  acquisition  of  territory  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  and 
perpetuating  for  others  and  their  posterity  that  colonial  bondage  against  which 
they  themselves  had  so  lately  revolted.  Power  may  enslave  them  (the  inhabi 
tants  of  territories)  longer!,  but  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  justice,  the  genius 
of  our  political  institutions,  and  our  own  example,  proclaim  their  title  to  break 
their  bonds  and  assert  their  freedom.''  Can  this  have  been  intended  for  calm 
reasoning,  to  convince  the  undenstandings  of  those  to  whom  it  purports  to  be 
addressed,  or  was  it  designed  to  produce  an  effect  on  the  feelings  and  .conduct  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  territory  of  Missouri  then  demanding  admission  into  the 
Union?  It  is  hoped  it  will  never  be  believed  that  this  association  of  free  States, 
formed  for  the  noble  purposes  above  stated,  ever  contemplated  the  acquisition 
of  territory  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  or  extending  bondage  of  any  kind. 

If  the  Constitution  gives  to  Congress  the  power  in  question,  it  is  not  per 
ceived  that  there  is  any  stipulation  in  the  treaty  ceding  Louisiana  to  the  United 
States  that  forbids  the  exercise  of  it  in  providing  for  the  admission  into  the 
Union  of  the  territory  of  Missouri.  The  provision  of  the  treaty,  which  is  sup 
posed  to  impose  on  Congress  the  obligation  of  admitting  that  territory  uncon 
ditionally,  is  the  following:  (253)  "The  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory  shall 
be  incorporated  into  the  union  of  the  United  States,  and  admitted  as  soon  as 
possible,  according  to  the  principles  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  to  the  enjoyment 
of  all  the  rights,  advantages,  and  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States." 
It  is  not  believed  that  this  provision  can  have  any  effect  whatever  on  the  ques 
tion.  The  admission  into  the  Union  is  to  be  according  to  the  principles  of  the 
Constitution.  If  Congress  may  according  to  those  principles  make  the  prohibi 
tion  of  slavery  a  condition  of  the  admission,  then  surely  the  admission,  subject 
to  that  prohibition,  cannot  be  at  variance  with  the  principles. 

The  rights  mentioned  in  the  treaty  are  such  as  are  conferred  by  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  on  its  citizens,  among  which  the  right  to  hold 
slaves  (if  such  right  there  be),  is  not  one.  Admitted  subject  to  the  proposed 
inhibition  of  slavery,  the  inhabitants  of  Missouri  would  have  enjoyed  the  same 
rights,  as  citizens  of  the  United  States,  as  do  the  citizens  of  the  States  on  the 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  247 


north  side  of  the  River  Ohio,  or  as  do  the  citizens  of  other  States  where  slavery 
is  not  tolerated,  and  who,  as  is  hoped,  will  not  be  soon  convinced  that  they  do 
not  enjoy  all  the  rights  appertaining  to  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

To  avoid  this  conclusion,  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  contends  that  the 
clause  "according  to  the  principles  of  the  Federal  Constitution,"  is  no  more  than 
a  qualification  of  the  time  of  admission.  But  the  Constitution  neither  states 
nor  even  alludes  to  any  principle  whatever  to  designate  or  determine  the  time 
for  the  admission  of  a  new  State.  Such  construction  of  those  words  would 
therefore  render  them  wholly  inoperative,  and  must  consequently  be  rejected. 

The  toleration  of  slavery  in  a  portion  of  our  common  country  has  long 
furnished  matter  of  reproach  on  our  national  character.  Strong  hopes  were 
entertained  that  instead  of  the  zeal  now  shown  for  enlarging  the  sphere  of  its 
baneful  operation,  suitable  measures  would  have  been  adopted  for  its  gradual 
abolition.  Congress,  having  the  power,  is  bound  by  considerations  of  justice  and 
humanity,  and  by  a  regard  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  nation,  to  prevent  the 
further  extension  of  this  evil.  The  attempt  to  wrest  this  power  from  Congress  af 
fords  just  cause  of  alarm.  It  is  apparent  that  slavery  creates  habits  and  interests 
peculiar  to  the  States  tolerating  it,  and  that  it  constitutes  between  them  a  strong 
bond  of  union.  To  this  cause  is  to  be  attributed  the  unparalleled  unanimity  of 
every  Senator  and  Representative  of  the  slaveholding  States,  on  the  passing  of 
the  late  act  by  Congress,  affecting  this  subject. 

Should  this  odious  bond  of  union  be  permitted  to  be  extended,  without  op 
position,  it  will  soon  produce  such  a  combination  of  political  power  as  may  be 
sufficient  permanently  to  control  all  the  measures  of  the  national  councils.  By 
the  Constitution,  a  disproportionate  share  of  political  power  is  conceded  to  the 
slaveholding  States  on  account  of  their  slaves.  And  although  the  equivalent 
given  to  the  States  not  tolerating  slavery  has  in  a  great  degree  failed,  by  reason 
of  the  government's  seldom  resorting  to  direct  taxation  for  revenue,  yet  no  com 
plaint  is  made,  while  the  (254)  advantage  is  confined  to  the  original  States,  the 
parties  to  the  compact,  or  even  to  new  States  formed  within  their  limits.  But 
new  States  formed  out  of  territory  not  included  within  the  original  limits  of  the 
United  States  have  no  claim  to  this  advantage.  And  the  granting  of  it  to 
them,  when  nothing  in  their  situation  renders  it  necessary,  is  an  act  of  injustice 
toward  the  States  not  allowing  slavery,  and  which,  if  persevered  in,  may  in  the 
end  destroy  their  just  share  of  power  and  influence  in  the  General  Government 
and  endanger  their  security. 

Which  said  report  was  approved  and  agreed  to,  as  expressing  the  opinion 
of  this  Legislature.  Therefore,  — 

Resolved,  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  General  Court  con 
vened,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Legislature  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
has  by  the  Constitution  the  right  in  admitting  new  States  into  the  Union  to 
prescribe  the  prohibition  of  slavery,  as  one  of  the  conditions  on  which  s*uch  State 
shall  be  admitted: 


248  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


That  in  the  case  of  Missouri,  to  which,  by  the  Preamble  and  Resolutions  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia,  the  attention  of  this  Legislature  has  been 
called,  that  right  remained  in  full  force,  unimpaired  either  by  the  treaty  under 
which  that  territory  was  acquired,  or  any  subsequent  acts  of  the  General  Govern 
ment: 

That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Legislature,  the  existence  of  slavery  within  the 
United  States  is  a  great  moral  as  "well  as  political  evil,  the  toleration  of  which  can 
be  justified  by  necessity  alone,  and  that  the  further  extension  of  it  ought  to  be 
prevented  by  the  due  exercise  of  the  power  vested  in  the  General  Government: 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  of  this  State  be  requested  to  transmit  a  copy 
of  the  foregoing  report  and  resolutions  to  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Virginia. 

The  Democrats  of  Portsmouth  were  so  well  satisfied  with  Mr. 
Mason's  course  in  the  Legislature  in  1820  that  they  re-elected  him 
in  1821.  He  was  again  placed  at'  the  head  of  the  judiciary  commit 
tee,  and  in  this  capacity  reported  a  bill,  which  became  a  law,  vesting 
in  the  Superior  Court  chancery  jurisdiction  in  cases  of  real  and 
personal  estate  given  to  charitable  uses.  This  was  among  the  very 
first  acts,  if  not  the  first,  which  conferred  chancery  powers  upon 
the  highest  court  of  the  State. 

In  1821  a  subject  of  general  interest  came  before  the  Legislature 
of  New  Hampshire  in  the  shape  of  a  report  and  resolutions  from 
the  Legislature  of  Ohio,  relating  to  proceedings  in  suits  in  the  cir 
cuit  court  of  the  United  States  for  the  district  of  Ohio  against  cer 
tain  officers  of  that  State.  These  suits  grew  out  of  an  attempt  of 

(255) 

the  State  of  Ohio  to  tax  the  United  States  Branch  Bank  at  Chili- 
cothe  in  that  State,  and  the  resistance  of  the  bank  to  the  tax  as 
unconstitutional.1 

The  report  and  resolutions  of  the  State  of  Ohio  were  referred  to 
the  committee  on  the  judiciary,  which  presented  the  following  re 
port  and  resolutions. 

STATE  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
In  the  yewr  of  our  Lord*  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty-one. 

Whereas  a  report  of  a  committee  of  both  Houses  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  certain  resolutions  founded  thereon,  relating  to  pro- 

1  See  Osborn  vs.  United  States  Bank,  9  Wheaton,  738. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  249 


ceedings  in  suits  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  district  of 
Ohio,  against  certain  officers  of  that  State,  have  been  communicated  by  his  Excel 
lency  the  Governor,  with  a  request  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Ohio  that 
this  Legislature  will  express  its  opinion  thereon :  which  report  and  resolutions 
having  been  duly  considered:  Therefore, 

Resolved,  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  General  Court 
convened,  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  has  by  the  Constitution  power 
to  establish  a  Bank,  with  offices  of  discount  and  deposit  in  the  several  States, 
as  is  done  by  the  Act  establishing  the  Bank  of  the  United  States;  and  that  the 
exercise  of  this  power  is  necessary  for  the  due  administration  of  the  fiscal  con 
cerns  of  the  United  States. 

Resolved,  That  as  the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  the  United  States  made  in 
pursuance  thereof,  are  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  "anything  in  the  Constitu 
tion  or  laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,"  therefore  any  act  of 
the  Legislature  of  a  State,  which  if  carried  into  effect,  would  prevent  or  defeat 
the  rightful  exercise  of  any  of  the  powers  vested  in  the  General  Government,  is 
void. 

Resolved,  That  the  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Ohio,  levying  a  tax  on  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States,  if  carried  into  effect  would  compel  a  removal  from  that 
State  of  the  offices  of  discount  and  deposit  there  established  and  thereby  prevent 
and  defeat  the  rightful  exercise  of  the  power  vested  in  the  General  Government 
by  virtue  whereof  the  officers  of  the  Bank  were  there  established. 

Resolved,  That  inasmuch  as  the  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  extends 
to  all  cases  in  law  and  equity  arising  under  the  Constitution  and  laws,  this  Legis 
lature  is  of  opinion  that  the  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  is  co-extensive 
with  the  legislative  power,  and  that  it  appertains  to  the  judicial  department  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States  to  determine  cases  arising  from  a  conflict 
between  the  laws  of  the  United  States  and  the  laws  of  a  particular  State,  and 
that  the  preservation  and  due  exercise  of  this  power  is  essential  to  the  peace  and 
safety  of  the  Union.  (256) 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Legislature,  the  proceedings  in  the 
Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  district  of  Ohio,  in  the  before  men 
tioned  report  stated,  do  not  violate  the  letter  or  spirit  of  the  eleventh  article  of 
the  amendments  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  nor  constitute  any  just 
cause  of  complaint. 

Resolved,  That  while  this  Legislature  will  always  be  ready  to  lend  its  aid 
to  defend  against  any  real  encroachment  on  the  rights  of  any  of  the  States  of 
the  Union,  it  will  give  its  full  support  to  the  General  Government,  so  long  as  it 
confines  itself  within  its  prescribed  limits,  in  the  exercise  of  the  powers  entrusted 
to  it  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  to  secure  the  great  objects  for  which 
the  Constitution  was  formed. 


250  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


Resolved,  That  his  Excellency  the  Governor  be  requested  to  transmit  to  the 
Governors  of  the  several  States  of  the  Union  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolu 
tions. 

In  the  House  the  report  was  accepted,  and  the  resolutions  adopt 
ed,  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  yeas  to  eight  nays; 
but  in  the  Senate,  mainly,  as  it  was  said,  through  the  influence  of 
an  active  Democratic  politician,  a  member  of  that  body  and  after 
wards  of  the  United  States  Senate,  they  were  indefinitely  postponed 
by  a  vote  of  seven  yeas  to  five  nays. 

33  (257) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  251 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Correspondence  to  the  Close  of  1824.  —  Letters  to  and  from  Mr.  King,  Mr.  Gore, 
Judge  Story,  and  Mr.  Webster.  —  Mr.  Mason,  in  1824,  a  Candidate  for  the 
United  States  Senate.  —  Causes  of  his  Defeat. 

DANIEL   WEBSTER   TO   JEREMIAH   MASON. 

BOSTON,  January  12,  1821. 

DEAR  SIR, — We  learned  by  Mary's  letter  of  Jane's  recovery, 
which  gave  us  great  pleasure.  We  had  become  a  good  deal 
alarmed  for  her.  You  perceive  our  Convention  is  over.  We  have 
got  out  as  well  as  we  expected.  As  soon  as  our  volume  of  debates 
and  proceedings  is  published,  I  shall  send  it  to  you.  It  was  a  great 
body  in  numbers,  and  though  I  think  it  generally  was  well  dis 
posed,  there  was  a  good  deal  of  inflammable  matter,  and  some  radi 
calism  in  it.  We  were  extremely  fortunate  in  finding  a  consider 
able  number  of  gentlemen  well  disposed,  who  might  otherwise  have 
occasioned  much  trouble.  You  laugh  a  little,  I  know,  at  our  early 
debates  about  Rules  and  Orders,  etc.  But  the  "Rules  and  Orders" 
brought  us  out  at  last.  Without  them  there  is  reason  to  think  we 
might  have  come  badly  off.  Some  of  our  friends  have  increased 
their  reputation  a  good  deal.  I  think  Judge  S.  has  done  so,  al 
though  he  had  a  great  deal  of  that  commodity  before.  Button, 
Hoar,  and  Saltonstall  have  decisively  risen,  not  a  little.  We  think 
three  good  things  done;  the  Judiciary,  the  College,  and  the  future 
amendment  articles.  As  to  the  rest,  there  may  be  different  opin 
ions.  The  House  of  Representatives  is  not  enough  reduced;  but 
we  could  go  no  further,  without  departing  altogether  from  town 
representation.  The  Senate  stands  pretty  well.  Whether  the  (258) 
Religious  Article  is  helped  or  hurt,  its  friends  hardly  know;  so  I 


252  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


suppose  no  great  injury  has  probably  been  done  it.  Some  smaller 
amendments  about  the  militia,  etc.,  have  passed,  which  it  would 
have  been  better  to  have  omitted.  I  learn  that  you  have  finished 
your  Common  Pleas.  The  consequence,  I  think,  must  ere  long  be, 
an  entire  new  modification  of  your  Supreme  Court.  I  hope  you  will 
keep  in  the  Legislature  long  enough  to  pass  a  law  for  districting 
for  members  of  Congress.  I  think  that  quite  an  object. 

I  suppose  I  must  leave  home  for  Washington  about  the  25th. 
I  wish  you  could  make  business  up  here  for  a  day  or  two,  before 
that  time. 

I  have  had  no  regular  talks  with  anybody,  since  you  were  here, 
and  I  think  there  were  some  subjects  which  we  left  unfinished. 

I  want  to  look  into  Moore's  "History  of  the  English  Revolution/ ' 
to  ascertain  a  particular  fact.    I  will  thank  you  to  give  it  to  the  stage- 
driver  to  be  brought  to  me,  Sunday  or  Monday.    It  will  come  safe. 
Yours  with  usual  regard,  D.  WEBSTER. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  20,  1821. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  While  the  debates  were  going  on  in  your  Con 
vention,  I  was  so  much  occupied  with  the  ordinary  business  of  our 
Legislature  that  I  did  not  read  them  with  much  attention.  I  have 
lately  read  some  of  the  principal  speeches,  and  anticipate  the  pleas 
ure  as  well  as  instruction,  I  shall  derive  from  the  volume  containing 
the  whole,  which  I  understand  is  to  be  published.  I  am  told  your 
best  folks  are  pretty  well  satisfied  with  the  result.  You  have  cer 
tainly  gained  considerable  for  the  Judiciary,  something  in  lessening 
the  number  of  Representatives  in  the  House,  and  also  for  the  Col 
lege,  and  in  the  matter  of  future  amendments.  I  am  more  certain 
that  some  of  you  have  gained  an  increased  stock  of  reputation. 
The  bad  usages  which  have  prevailed  in  your  State  Legislature,  sub 
jected  you  to  some  difficulty  at  first,  in  the  matter  of  rules,  and  (259) 
orders.  But  after  that  was  over,  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the 
debates  and  doings  of  the  Convention  cannot  fail  to  elevate  the 
character  of  your  State.  I  hope  also  they  will  shed  some  lustre  on 
the  rest  of  New  England,  which  stands  greatly  in  need  of  it.  I  sup 
pose  you  must  be  about  setting  out  on  your  annual  journey  to 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  253 


Washington.  The  State  of  Virginia,  it  seems,  has  provided  you 
with  another  case,  involving  State  rights.  I  see  by  the  last  <rNa- 
tional  Intelligencer,"  that  her  Legislature  has  made  a  pretty  bold 
attempt  to  forestall  the  decision  of  your  court,  in  the  lottery  case. 
Virginia  will  never  be  quiet  till  she  gets  into  her  natural  state  of 
opposition  to  all  the  departments  of  the  national  government.  Mary 
was  much  delighted  with  her  visit  at  your  house.  She  returned 
suddenly  from  Boston,  as  perhaps  you  may  have  heard,  on  account 
of  the  sickness  of  her  sister,  who  has  now  happily  recovered.  Wish 
ing  you  a  prosperous  journey,  pleasant  session  of  your  court,  and 
happy  return,  I  remain, 

My  dear  Sir,  as  ever,  sincerely  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  8,  1822. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  should  have  answered  your  letter  of  last  Oc- 
October  immediately,  had  I  not  felt  a  little  timid  in  expressing  any 
opinion  on  one  of  the  subjects  you  mentioned ;  I  mean  your  slave- 
ship  case.1  On  receiving  your  letter  I  made  a  slight  attempt  to 
examine  the  question.  I  found  that  I  had  not  all  the  late  English 
cases,  and  as  I  knew  little  about  it,  I  concluded  the  wisest  course  was 
to  say  nothing.  I  rejoice  that  you  have  been  able  to  come  to  the  re 
sult  you  have,  so  suitable  to  the  character  of  a  court  of  justice,  and 
to  the  nature  of  our  system  of  government,  and  so  congenial  to  all 
our  best  feelings.  I  am  very  desirous  of  seeing  your  opinion,  which 
from  an  intimation  in  one  of  the  public  papers,  I  expected  would 

(260) 

have  been  published  before  this  time.  I  take  it  you  must  necessa 
rily  come  into  conflict  with  the  opinion  of  Lord  Stowell.  It  will  be 
highly  honorable  to  our  country  to  take  the  lead  and  give  the  law 
on  this  subject,  and  I  trust  you  will  be  supported  by  the  Supreme 
Court  (where  I  suppose  the  cause  has  gone),  and  not  impeded  by 
any  interference  of  the  Executive  Government.  I  have  no  difficulty 
in  the  questions  discussed  last  summer  in  the  Boston  newspapers 

1  Mr.   Mason   refers  to  the   case  of  La  Jeune  Eugenie,   2   Mason,   409. 


254  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


relating  to  the  action  of  replevin,  to  which  you  allude.  I  had  oc 
casion,  a  few  years  ago,  to  examine  that  point,  and  then  concluded 
that  the  Massachusetts  doctrine  was*  unsound.1  In  that  conclusion  I 
was  confirmed  by  the  late  discussion,  which  showed  as  I  think  much 
industry  and  ability.  The  publishing  of  reports  of  law  cases  in  so 
many  of  the  States,  is  doubtless  in  many  respects  beneficial,  but  I 
fear  it  will  in  the  end  prove  in  some  respects  injurious.  From  the 
time  of  Dr.  Sangrado  to  the  present,  men  have  generally  been  pretty 
resolutely  determined  to  abide  by  the  opinions  they  have  put  into 
their  own  books.  Were  it  not  for  this  difficulty  in  retracting  pub 
lished  opinions,  it  is  probable  the  court  of  Massachusetts  would  have 
returned  to  what  can  hardly  be  doubted  is  the  true  doctrine  of  the 
law.  I  have  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  Massachusetts  reports  are 
on  the  whole  beneficial.  Many  of  the  cases  are  ably  discussed  and 
have  been  highly  useful  to  us  in  this  State.  But  I  still  think  it 
would  have  been  much  better  that  some  of  the  cases  had  been  omit 
ted.  The  science  of  the  law  is  rapidly  progressing,  and  if  the  busi 
ness  of  reporting  was  managed  more  sparingly,  fewer  anomalies 
would  at  a  future  period  be  found  in  the  laws  and  practice  of  the 
different  States.  I  learn  from  Washington  that  the  expected  attack 
on  the  judiciary  will  be  made,  but,  according  to  my  informant,  with 
little  prospect  of  success  at  this  time.  The  Kentucky  proposal  for 
amending  the  Constitution  will  end  in  smoke.  The  objections  to 

(261) 

that  project  are  obvious  and  insuperable.  Besides  destroying  one 
of  the  leading  principles  of  our  government,  a  separation  of  the  de 
partments,  it  would  subject  judicial  decision  to  all  the  intrigue  and 
management  to  which  a  legislative  body  is  always  exposed.  What 
chance  for  justice  or  consistency  in  a  factious  and  somewhat  popu 
lar  body,  feeling  little  responsibility,  a  vast  majority  of  whom  if  left 
to  the  influence  of  correct  motives,  would  be  wholly  incompetent  to 
the  proposed  task!  If  this  experiment  could  be  tried,  without  dis 
turbing  the  Constitution,  I  should  not  dislike  to  see  the  attempt. 

1  The  Massachusetts  doctrine  was  that  replevin  lies  for  a  wrongful  detention 
of  the  plaintiff's  goods,  although  the  original  taking  may  have  been  justifiable. 
Judge  Story  held  that  the  taking  as  well  as  the  detention  must  be  unlawful  in 
order  to  authorize  the  process.  See  Baker  et  al.  vs.  Fales,  16  Mass.  147;  Meany 
vs.  Head,  1  Mason,  319. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  255 


The  nation  would  soon  become  sick  of  it,  and  the  failure  would  free 
the  Supreme  Court  from  much  undeserved  odium.  I  do  not  believe 
there  is  any  immediate  danger  to  the  judiciary  by  any  acts  of  the 
Legislature.  But  what  may  be  finally  effected  by  perseverance  and 
reiterated  attempts  it  is  impossible  to  say.  A  considerable  por 
tion  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  the  United  States  is  of  such 
nature  as  will  be  always  likely  to  give  offense  and  excite  angry  pas 
sions,  and  unfortunately  not  only  all  the  responsibility,  but  all  the 
odium  rests  on  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  From  their  in 
significance,  or  some  other  cause,  the  judges  of  the  district  courts 
share  no  part  with  you.  I  do  think  it  is  greatly  desirable  that  there 
should  be  inferior  courts,  of  character  sufficiently  reputable  to  bear 
a  portion  of  the  responsibility.  But  of  this  at  present  there  seems 
to  be  no  chance.  The  Supreme  Court  has  no  choice  of  courses  to 
be  pursued.  The  straightforward  course  is  the  only  one  that  can 
be  followed.  It  may  be  with  as  much  temperance  as  the  Chief  Jus 
tice  pleases,  and  no  man  ever  excelled  him  in  the  exercise  of  that 
virtue.  But  any  vacillation  or  retracting,  which  might  be  set  down 
to  the  score  of  the  present  noisy  threats,  would  be  not  only  incon 
sistent  with  a  due  regard  to  personal  character,  but  in  their  conse 
quences,  destructive  of  the  best  interests  of  the  nation.  I  have  con 
fident  hopes  that  the  doctrines  of  the  new  school  will  be  met,  both 
in  and  out  of  Congress,  by  such  a  manly  opposition,  as  will  put 
them  down,  before  there  shall  be  time  for  them  to  do  much  injury. 
I  have  been  lately  informed  that  our  friend  Webster  has  given  (262) 
intimations  that  Chancellor  Kent  might  probably  be  induced  to  ac 
cept  the  presidency  of  Dartmouth  College.  I  know  nothing  of  the 
ground  on  which  this  intimation  has  been  made.  Probably  you  may. 
I  think  you  are  personally  acquainted  with  the  Chancellor.  I  have 
no  manner  of  doubt  he  would  be  appointed  without  the  least  hesita 
tion,  if  it  were  understood  he  would  accept  the  appointment.  I  have 
no  direct  communication  with  any  of  the  trustees,  but  am  told 
measures  will  be  taken  to  ascertain  whether  he  will  accept.  If  you 
can  with  propriety,  I  wish  you  would  use  your  influence  with  him 
to  induce  him  to  hearken  to  the  proposal.  It  would  be  highly  grati 
fying  not  only  to  us  in  New  Hampshire,  but  to  all  New  England, 
to  have  him  among  us.  At  the  first  blush,  perhaps  the  situation 
would  not  seem  very  eligible  for  him.  But  if  he  intends  to  spend 


256  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


the  remainder  of  his  life  in  literary  pursuits,  it  matters  not  much 
where  his  place  shall  be.  A  man  of  his  eminent  talents  can  always 
make  a  place  suitable  for  himself. 

With  the  greatest  esteem  and  respect,  I  am  truly  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

JOSEPH  STORY"  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  21,  1822. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  your  late  letter 
a  few  days  since.  I  will  not  conceal  how  much  satisfaction  it  gave 
me  to  learn  your  approbation  in  the  case  of  La  Jeune  Eugenie.  It 
was  one  of  those  questions  on  which  professional  minds  might  well 
differ,  but  which  I  felt  involved  a  great  principle  of  morals.  The 
opinion  has  been  read  by  several  of  the  judges  here,  and  in  general  I 
think  it  not  unsatisfactory  to  them  in  its  results.  The  Chief  Justice, 
with  his  characteristic  modesty,  says  he  thinks  I  am  right,  but  the 
questions  are  new  to  his  mind.  Mr.  Pinkney  agrees  entirely  in  the 
result,  and  in  all  the  intermediate  reasoning  except  on  a  single  point, 
where  he  thinks  the  doctrine  so  qualified,  that  he  does  not  think  it 
incorrect,  though  he  says  he  paused  upon  it.  Speaking  of  this  gen- 

(263) 

a  Joseph  Story  (1779-1845),  was  appointed  to  the  United  States  Supreme 
Bench  at  thirty-one,  by  Madison,  in  1811,  where  he  sat  for  thirty-four  years. 
He  assisted  the  development  of  American  constitutional  law  in  fixing  the  stat 
utes  of  American  admiralty,  patent  and  equity  jurisprudence.  Story  says  that 
after  reading  Blackstone,  Mr.  Sewell,  his  preceptor,  directed  him  to  read  Coke 
on  Littleton.  "It  was  a  large  folio,  with  Hargrave  &  Butler's  notes,  which 
I  was  required  to  read  also.  Soon  after  Mr.  SewelPs  departure  for  Washing 
ton,  I  took  it  up.  I  set  myself  down  and  wept  bitterly.  My  tears  dropped  upon 
the  book,  and  stained  its  pages.  It  was  but  a  momentary  irresolution.  I  went 
on  and  on,  and  began  at  last  to  see  delight,  ay,  and  to  feel  that  I  could  compre 
hend  and  reason  upon  the  texts  and  contents.  When  I  had  completed  the  reading 
of  this  formidable  work,  I  felt  that  I  breathed  a  purer  air,  and  that  I  had  ac 
quired  a  new  power."--!  Story's  Life  and  Letters,  74. 

Story  said  of  Mason:  "Mr.  Mason  is  the  most  eminent  counsellor  at  the 
bar  of  New  Hampshire.  He  is,  as  everyone  acquainted  with  him  knows,  a  labor 
ious,  acute,  learned,  sagacious,  accurate  lawyer,  whose  mind  is  capable  of  the 
highest  reaches  of  reasoning  and  whose  comprehensiveness  of  view  rarely 
leaves  anything  untouched  or  unseen,  belonging  to  the  subject  which  he  investi 
gates." — Story's  Autobiography,  23  (Written  in  1804.) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  257 


tleman,  I  am  sorry  to  inform  you  that  on  Sunday  last  he  was  taken 
very  ill,  with  what  is  generally  thought  an  apoplexy.  But  it  is  called 
by  some  softer  name,  a  brain  fever — for  instance.  He  is  better  now, 
though  still  very  ill,  and  I  have  my  doubts  whether  he  will  ever 
again  be  thoroughly  well.1  At  all  events  I  think  we  shall  scarcely 
again  witness  his  extraordinary  efforts.  It  is  remarkable  that  Mr. 
Wirta  was  taken  ill  at  the  commencement  of  the  term  with  a  like 
attack,  from  which  he  is  slowly  recovering,  and  it  is  exceedingly 
doubtful  if  he  will  be  able  to  attend  court  during  the  whole  term. 
Our  business  has  been  exceedingly  deranged  by  these  accidents, 
and  very  little  important  business  will  be  done  this  session.  The 
propositions  of  Virginia,  etc.,  and  of  Mr.  Johnson  of  Kentucky, 
respecting  the  judiciary  are  not  likely  to  find  much  favor  here  in 
Congress.  From  opposite  motives  there  will  be  hostility  to  them; 
and  I  learn  that  even  in  Virginia,  Mr.  Eppes,  in  offering  his  resolu 
tions  against  the  judiciary,  has  met  with  a  rebuke, — seventy-two 
against  seventy-eight  members  voting  to  postpone  them  indefinitely. 
This  looks  somewhat  ominous.  In  respect  to  the  candidates  for 
the  Presidency,  discussion  has  somewhat  subsided,  but  it  is  clear 
that  all  public  business  is  colored  with  the  hues  borrowed  from  this 
subject.  Every  measure  is  watched  with  a  jealous  regard  to  its 
bearing  on  this  point.  Kentucky  is  at  present  firm  for  Mr.  Clay, 
and  will  struggle  hard  to  bring  other  Western  interests  to  bear  in 
his  favor.  Mr.  Crawford's  friends  are  evidently  alive  and  exerting 
themselves.  Beyond  all  question  Virginia  means  to  stick  by  him. 
Mr.  Adams  seems  in  statu  quo.  I  do  not  hear  that  he  makes  any 
friends,  and  unless  supported  by  Maryland,  he  will  not  have  a  com 
manding  vote.  I  do  not  learn  that  he  has  any  very  zealous  parti 
sans  at  work  for  him.  Mr.  Lowndes  by  present  appearances  will  not 
ultimately  run  against  any  other  candidate  from  South  Carolina, 

1   Mr.  Pinkney  died  four  days  after  the  date  of  this  letter. 

a  William  Wirt  (1772-1834).  Says  Rufus  Choate:  "Wirt  at  35  years  of  age, 
was,  I  think,  the  most  interesting  man  of  the  profession  of  our  country.  Webster 
and  Pinkney  had  not  then  come  out  in  national  relief.  With  them,  letters  were  an 
after-acquisition ;  with  Wirt,  the  literature  was  originally  congenial.  I  didn't  hear 
him  in  his  prime  (Choate  read  law  with  Wirt,  in  1821,  when  the  latter  was  49), 
for  the  winter  I  was  in  his  office  he  was  struck  down  in  the  middle  of  preparing  a 


258  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


but  his  friends  will  unite  with  those  of  Mr.  Calhoun.b  This  latter 
gentleman  stands  very  high  here  among  elevated  and  considerate 
men,  and  appears  to  be  gaining  ground.  His  youth  is  against  him, 

(264) 

and  will  probably  weigh  much  in  abating  the  wishes  in  his  favor. 
But  in  all  other  respects  I  am  told  he  is  thought  superior  to  most,  if 
not  all  of  the  candidates.  It  is  impossible  to  conjecture  what  will  be 
the  event,  and  I  have  not  even  attempted  to  speculate  on  it.  I  think, 
if  he  is  not  set  up,  his  friends  will  probably  incline  to  Mr.  Adams. 
The  whole  Cabinet  is  by  the  ears.  All  are  candidates,  and  as  I  hear, 
they  are  quite  shy  of  each  other.  I  imagine  that  consultations  are 
merely  formal,  and  advice  rarely  given  in  concert.  I  have  thus 
thrown  out  all  that  I  can  learn  of  the  floating  rumors  and  guesses 
in  this  city  of  uncertainties ;  and  am,  with  my  respects  to  Mrs.  Mason 
and  Mary,  most  sincerely  but  in  great  haste, 

Your  faithful  friend,  JOSEPH  STORY. 

great  case  by  a  sort  of  paralysis,  brought  on  entirely  by  over  work.  Wirt  told 
me  once  that  he  sat  right  behind  Webster  in  the  Dartmouth  College  case  and  he 
didn't  hear  anything  of  that  pathetic  peroration  which  Goodrich  describes;  at 
least,  he  was  not  impressed  with  anything  in  particular  about  it.  I  think  Wirt's 
argument  in  Burr's  case,  and  on  the  motion  to  exclude  all  the  testimony  as  to 
what  occurred  in  other  parts  than  the  venue,  his  greatest  eifort  on  record."  — 
—  Parker's  Reminiscences  of  Rufus  Choate,  271-2;  also  2  Great  American  Law 
yers,  306,  by  John  Handy  Hall. 

b  Rufus  Choate,  James  Parton,  W.  H.  Sparks,  and  Senator  Jas.  H.  Kyle, 
speak  depreciatingly  of  Calhoun;  not  so,  Daniel  Webster  and  Henry  Cabot  Lodge, 
the  latter  of  whom  recently  said:  "He  was  really  a  great  man,  one  of  the  con- 
spicious  figures  of  our  history.  In  that  history  he  stands  out  clear,  distinct, 
commanding.  There  is  no  trace  of  the  demagogue  about  him.  He  was  a  bold, 
as  well  as  a  deep  thinker,  and  he  had  to  the  full  the  courage  of  his  convictions. 
The  doctrines  of  socialism  were  as  alien  to  him  as  the  worship  of  commercialism. 
He  raised  his  mind  to  truths.  He  believed  that  statesmanship  must  move  on  a 
high  plane,  and  he  could  not  conceive  that  mere  money-making  and  money-get 
ting  were  the  highest  objects  of  ambition  in  the  lives  of  men  and  nations.  He 
was  the  greatest  man  South  Carolina  has  given  to  the  Nation.  *  *  *  He  was  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  men,  one  of  the  keenest  minds,  that  American  public  life 
can  show.  It  matters  not  that  before  the  last  tribunal  the  verdict  went  against 
him,  that  the  extreme  doctrines  to  which  his  imperious  logic  carried  him  have 
been  banned  and  barred,  the  man  remains  greatly  placed  in  history.  The  un 
yielding  courage,  the  splendid  intellect,  the  long  devotion  to  the  public  service, 


1.     WILLIAM   H.  CRAWFORD.  3.     TIMOTHY  PICKERING. 

2.     HENRY  CLAY. 

4.     THEOPHILUS  PARSONS.  5.     ALEXANDER  HAMILTON. 

6.     SAMUEL  DEXTER.  8.     JOSEPH  DENNIE. 

7.     JOSEPH  STORY. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  259 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

BOSTON.,  March  23,  1822. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  came  home  this  day  week,  after  a  longer  ab 
sence  than  usual,  and  having  had  a  severe  cold  on  the  way,  which 
detained  me  two  or  three  days  at  New  York.  My  observation  at 
Washington  has  not  probably  enabled  me  to  say  anything  new  to 
you,  as  Mr.  King  has  probably  often  written  you,  and  his  guesses 
are  worth  a  great  deal  more  than  mine.  I  have  formed,  however, 
one  or  two  opinions,  which  I  shall  state,  without  at  present  giving 
reasons  for  them,  as  to  the  future  events.  In  the  first  place,  I  think 
it  clear  there  is  to  be  a  ivarm  contest  for  the  Presidency;  and  my 
expectation  is  that  after  sifting  out  sundry  candidates  having  less 
support,  the  final  struggle  will  be  between  Crawford  and  Calhoun. 
It  would  certainly  come  to  this,  if  the  present  Congress  were  to  de 
cide  the  matter  and  were  now  to  take  sides.  Whether  the  People 
may  not  interfere,  before  the  time  comes,  and  make  a  President  of 
somebody  else,  I  know  not.  The  New  York  dominant  party  talk 
mysteriously,  and  hint  that  they  may  bring  up  Mr.  King.  Of  all 
this  I  do  not  believe  one  word.  I  think  they  are  aiming  not  to 
serve  Mr.  King,  but  to  serve  themselves  by  him;  and  I  fear  he  is 

(265) 
not  quite  so  fully  impressed  with  this  truth  as  he  ought  to  be.     I 

the  pure  unspotted  private  life  are  all  there,  are  all  here  with  us  now,  untouched 
and  unimpaired  for  after  ages  to  admire." -  — From  speech  on  acceptance  of  the 
Statue  of  Calhoun,  in  U.  S.  Senate,  Mar.  12,  1910. 

On  the  contrary,  James  Parton  says:  "Mr.  Calhoun  was  not  a  student;  he 
probed  nothing  to  the  bottom;  his  information  on  all  subjects  was  small  in 
quantity,  and  second-hand  in  quality.  Nor  was  he  a  patient  thinker.  Any 
stray  fact  or  notion  that  he  met  with  in  his  hasty,  desultory  reading,  which 
chanced  to  give  apparent  support  to  a  favorite  theory  or  paradox  of  his  own  he 
seized  upon  eagerly,  paraded  it  in  triumph,  but  pondered  it  little;  while  the 
weightiest  facts  which  controverted  his  opinion  he  brushed  aside  without  the 
slightest  consideration.  His  mind  was  arrogant  as  his  manners  were  courteous. 
Everyone  whoever  conversed  with  him  must  remember  his  positive,  peremptory, 
unanswerable  'Not  at  all,  not  at  all'  whenever  one  of  his  favorite  notions  was 
assailed.  He  was  wholly  a  special  pleader;  he  never  summed  up  the  testimony. 
We  find  in  his  works  no  evidence  that  he  had  read  the  masters  in  political 
economy;  not  even  Adam  Smith,  whose  reputation  was  at  its  height  during  the 
—18 


260  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


take  the  New  York  votes  to  be  yet  to  be  disposed  of,  according  to 
circumstances.  Pennsylvania,  it  is  thought,  will  be  unanimous  for 
Mr.  Calhoun,  and  I  suppose  is  the  basis  of  his  expected  support. 
I  have  heard  opinions  expressed,  respecting  other  States  and  parts 
of  States,  about  which  speculations  have  been  formed.  Maine  is 
expected  to  go  for  Mr.  Crawford.  Your  Mr.  Hill  is  gone  to  Wash 
ington,  and  in  all  probability  he  will  pledge  New  Hampshire  to  the 
same  interest.  I  think  the  "Intelligencer"  latterly  favors  the  same 
interest.  The  President,  as  far  as  he  ventures  to  have  any  opinion, 
is,  I  imagine,  against  that  interest.  We  had  rather  an  interesting 
court.  There  were  some  causes  of  consequence.  Your  friend  Taze- 
well  (who  quotes  you  on  all  occasions)  made  a  good  speech  in  one 
of  these  Baltimore  privateering  causes.  He  is  a  correct,  fluent,  easy, 
and  handsome  speaker;  and  a  learned,  ingenious,  and  subtle  lawyer. 
Our  friend  Judge  Story  seems  to  have  drawn  up  more  than  his  share 
of  opinions;  and  I  think  in  general  they  were  very  able.  In  the 
Spanish  Commission  affairs  go  tolerably  well.  The  general  course 
is  favorable  to  the  North  and  the  real  mercantile  losses  except  only 
as  far  as  relates  to  the  contract  cases  which  are  likely  to  be  forced 
in,  against  the  opinion  of  the  Commission.  I  have  a  particular  rea 
son  for  wishing  to  see  you  between  this  time  and  the  first  of  May. 
Shall  you  probably  be  this  way? 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  as  always, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

first  half  of  his  public  life.  In  history  he  was  the  merest  smatterer,  tho  it  was  his 
favorite  reading,  and  he  was  always  talking  about  Sparta,  Athens,  and  Rome. 
The  slenderness  of  his  fortune  prevented  his  traveling.  He  never  saw  Europe, 
and  if  he  ever  visited  the  Northern  States,  after  leaving  college,  his  stay  was 
short.  The  little  that  he  knew  of  life  was  gathered  in  three  places,  all  of  which 
were  of  an  exceptional  and  artificial  character  —  the  City  of  Washington,  the 
up-country  of  South  Carolina,  and  the  luxurious  reactionary  City  of  Charleston. 
His  mind,  narrow  and  intense,  because,  by  revolving  always  in  this  narrow 
sphere  and  breathing  a  close  tainted  atmosphere,  more  and  more  fixed  in  his 
narrowness  and  more  intense  in  its  operations.''  *  *  *  According  to  Calhoun's 
reasoning,  South  Carolina  should  have  a  veto  upon  acts  of  Congress.  Very 
well;  then  each  county  of  South  Carolina  should  have  a  veto  upon  the  acts  of 
the  State  Legislature;  and  each  town  should  have  a  veto  upon  the  behests  of 
the  county;  and  each  voter  upon  the  decisions  of  the  town.  Mr.  Calhoun's  argu 
ment,  therefore,  amounts  to  this:  that  one  voter  in  South  Carolina  should  have 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  261 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  April  12,   1822. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  thank  you  for  sending  me  your  Report  on  the 
Restrictions  of  our  Trade  with  the  British  West  Indies.  The  very 
satisfactory  view  which  you  have  given  of  the  justice  and  policy  of 
the  measures  adopted  by  the  United  States,  must  tend  to  silence 
the  complaints  which  local  interests  had  excited.  In  this  quarter 

(266) 

of  the  Union  no  dissatisfaction  has  been  felt  except  by  a  few  individ 
uals  whose  private  interests  were  supposed  to  be  affected.  Our  best 
informed  merchants  are  of  opinion  that  the  value  of  this  trade  has 
been  greatly  overrated,  and  if  it  should  be  permitted  to  our  vessels 
equally  with  the  British,  under  the  restrictions  which  would  prob 
ably  be  imposed,  that  it  could  not  be  profitably  pursued  to  any  con 
siderable  extent.  A  strong  recommendation  of  the  President  for 
acknowledging  the  independence  of  the  South  American  provinces, 
and  the  extraordinary  unanimity  with  which  it  was  adopted  by  the 
House  of  Representatives,  leads  me  to  suspect  there  was  information 
at  Washington  that  this  measure  would  give  no  serious  offense  in 
Europe.  If  the  late  intelligence  of  the  declaration  of  the  Spanish 
Cortes  be  true,  it  would  seem  that  was  not  the  case. 

I  hope  we  are  in  no  danger  of  a  misunderstanding  with  Spain,  or 
any  other  power,  on  this  subject.  We  are  certainly  not  in  a  situa 
tion  to  justify  the  encountering  much  risk.  In  the  present  condi 
tion  of  our  finances,  it  would  be  folly  even  to  talk  of  a  war.  If  I 
mistake  not  the  people  at  large  do  not  participate  much  in  the  zeal 
felt  by  their  representatives  on  this  occasion. 

The  squabbles  among  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  for  the  succes 
sion  tend  to  degrade  the  government  and  deprive  it  of  the  public 
confidence.  It  must  require  nothing  less  than  the  whole  energy  of 
the  President  to  keep  the  peace  of  his  own  household.  Should 
these  squabbles  continue,  there  is  a  chance  that  the  people  may 
take  the  matter  into  their  own  hands  and  determine  it  for  them 
selves,  in  which  event  I  hope  that  more  than  one  of  the  present 

the  constitutional  right  to  nullify  an  act  of  Congress,  and  no  law  should  be 
binding  which  has  not  received  the  assent  of  every  citizen." — Article,  "Calhoun," 
in  Famous  Americans  of  Recent  Times,  pp.  142  and  165-6. 


262  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


candidates  may  be  disappointed.  The  Baltimore  pamphlet  on  the 
public  defaulters,  as  far  as  it  is  known,  attracts  much  attention.  If 
the  facts  were  fairly  before  the  people,  they  would  produce  a  strong 
sensation  and  in  the  end  a  beneficial  effect.  The  government  would 
be  compelled  to  adopt  a  more  efficient  system  of  accounting  for 
expenditures  of  public  money.  But  there  is  no  way  by  which  these 
statements  can  reach  the  people.  Since  the  Federal  opposition  ceased, 
no  prudent  conductor  of  a  newspaper  has  deemed  it  (267)  expedi 
ent  to  publish  anything  that  might  give  offense  to  the  powers  that 
be.  And  this  will  continue  to  be  the  case  until  an  opposition  shall 
arise  under  some  other  name  and  from  a  different  quarter.  I  do 
not  know  how  to  account  for  the  long  continuance  of  such  entire 
apathy  and  indifference  towards  the  present  administration.  It  seems 
to  have  neither  friends  nor  foes. 

From  the  exictement  that  prevailed  in  Virginia  and  several  other 
States,  a  violent  attack  on  the  Supreme  Court  was  expected  in  the 
course  of  the  present  session  of  Congress.  I  am  glad  to  see  that 
this,  together  with  a  multitude  of  other  projects  of  less  importance, 
will  probably  end  in  smoke.  I  know  it  has  often  been  said  that 
lawyers  are  apt  to  attach  too  much  importance  to  the  judiciary  de 
partment.  I  confess  I  have  long  been  of  opinion  that  the  vigorous 
exercise  of  the  judiciary  power,  to  the  full  extent  now  authorized  by 
law,  was  absolutely  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the  government. 
I  think  there  is  more  occasion  for  extending  than  for  restraining 
the  exercise  of  this  power.  Were  it  not  for  the  extreme  jealousy,  on 
the  score  of  State  rights,  felt  in  some  sections  of  the  Union,  I  should 
like  to  see  provision  made  by  law  for  the  exercise  of  this  power,  to 
the  utmost  limits  fixed  by  the  Constitution.  I  cannot  see  how  the 
other  two  departments  of  government  can  be  effective,  where  the 
judiciary  can  do  nothing.  A  restriction  of  the  judiciary  power  neces 
sarily  involves  a  correspondent  restriction  of  the  other  powers  of 
government.  It  must  be  so  at  least  in  all  cases  where  the  general 
government  comes  in  conflict  with  the  State  government. 

With  great  respect  and  esteem  I  am  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  263 

RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JAMAICA,  L.  I.,  May  17,  1822. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  thank  you  for  your  obliging  letter  received  at 
Washington.  After  a  long  and  unprofitable  session,  Congress  (268) 
adjourned  last  week.  Our  South  America  recognition  ought  to 
make,  and  as  I  hope  will  make,  no  change  in  our  political  relations, 
though  some  apprehend  difficulties.  It  is  not  probable  that  ministers 
will  be  sent  before  they  are  needed  by  our  government ;  the  delay  will 
afford  opportunity  to  select  proper  characters  and  to  watch  the 
course  of  events ;  it  will  morever  avoid  the  eclat  of  a  premature 
proceeding.  At  the  early  period  of  the  session  we  saw  much  eager 
ness  on  the  subject  of  the  next  President;  but  the  disinclination 
manifested  by  some  of  the  State  legislatures  to  enter  into  an  early 
discussion  of  the  question  had  the  effect  to  discourage  the  same,  and 
the  session  finished  leaving  the  candidates  in  the  situation  in  which 
it  found  them.  Mr.  Adams  stands  where  he  was.  Calhoun  did  not 
advance.  Crawford  holds  his  own,  and  Clay  is  encouraged  to  per 
severe.  His  hopes  rest  on  the  election  to  be  made  by  the  House  of 
Representatives.  The  subject  will  be  resumed  at  the  next  session, 
and  events  which  may  occur  in  the  interval  may  serve  to  render  men 
more  decided  and  explicit.  The  competition  between  the  heads  of 
departments  creates  jealousies  and  divisions  in  the  proceedings  of 
Congress,  and  these  will  be  increased  in  future  sessions.  The  situa 
tion  of  the  incumbent  is  such  as  might  have  been  expected.  The  last 
year  or  two  of  his  predecessor  exhibited  but  little  evidences  of  the 
attachment  or  fidelity  of  his  political  friends.  The  close  of  the  actual 
Presidency  will  not  in  this  respect  be  more  fortunate. 

Our  commercial  difficulties  with  France  will,  as  I  conceive,  be 
settled  by  a  convention  between  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Neuville.  It  will 
be  only  for  a  year  or  two,  but  will  probably  lead  to  a  future  and  recip 
rocally  beneficial  adjustment.  From  England  we  have  information 
that  their  West  India  ports  are  about  to  be  opened.  Some  persons 
doubt  whether  in  the  present  state  of  our  navigation,  the  opening 
of  the  trade  to  British  and  American  vessels  will  be  advantageous; 
but  those  who  have  most  considered  the  subject  of  commerce,  best 
understand  the  advantages  of  its  freedom,  and  with  confidence  de- 


264  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


pend  upon  its  penetrating  qualities  and  the  tendency  thereof  to  its 
increase.  If  the  markets  of  all  nations  were  open,  the  (269)  con 
sequence  would  be  to  create  the  highest  stimulus  to  commercial  en 
terprise  and  human  industry.  I  am  persuaded  that  this  theory  is  the 
true  one  for  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  it  is  a  comfort  to  me 
to  believe  that  it  will  make  our  country  illustrious. 

With  regard  and  respect,  I  am  dear  Sir, 

Your  obedient,  faithful  servant, 

RUFUS  KING. 

JEREMIAH  M/ASON  TO  CHRISTOPHER  GORE. 

PORTSMOUTH,  April  17,  1823. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,— In  a  letter  I  had  from  Mr.  Payne,  within  a  few 
days,  he  informs  me  that  you  had  in  good  degree  recovered  your 
health ;  that  you  were  much  better  than  you  had  been  for  several 
years  past,  and  that  there  was  a  fair  prospect  of  your  again  having 
the  use  of  your  limbs.  I  most  cordially  congratulate  you  on  this  hap 
py  event.  Be  assured,  my  dear  sir,  I  am  exceedingly  rejoiced.  There 
are  very  few  persons  in  the  world,  whose  welfare  would  give  me 
such  sincere  pleasure.  The  patience  and  magnanimity  with  which 
you  have  borne  your  long  continued  and  severe  sufferings,  have  al 
ways  excited  my  admiration.  I  hope  and  trust  that  the  present  pros 
pect  will  not  prove  fallacious.  I  have  enjoyed  good  health  all  my 
life,  with  few  trivial  exceptions,  and  I  have  been  often  told  that  no 
one  can  duly  appreciate  the  full  value  of  health,  without  having  un 
dergone  the  pains  and  penalties  of  sickness.  I  pray  God  you  may 
long  enjoy  your  present  happiness  without  again  paying  its  extrava 
gant  price.  It  seems  Dr.  Eustis  has  carried  his  election  with  an  over 
whelming  majority.  I  was  prepared  for  this  result,  when  I  saw  both 
Orthodoxy  and  the  Hartford  Convention  invoked  to  his  aid.  This 
is  the  second  time  Mr.  Otis  has  been  the  unfortunate  occasion  of 
calling  up  the  ghost  of  that  unlucky  convention.  I  hope  it  is  now  laid 
forever.  This  is  probably  the  last  struggle  of  Federalism.  This  last 
defeat,  in  its  stronghold,  like  most  former  ones,  has  been  effected 
by  the  want  of  policy  and  the  mismanagement  (270)  of  the  leaders. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  265 


Whether  the  result  ought  to  be  deemed  matter  of  regret,  depends  in 
my  opinion  almost  entirely  on  the  course  that  shall  be  pursued  by 
the  successful  candidate.  Since  the  dissolution  of  the  Federal  party 
in  the  United  States,  I  have  not  been  able  to  see  any  general  benefit 
from  retaining  its  name  and  nominally  supporting  its  principles  in 
a  single  State.  It  may  have  been  convenient  to  individuals,  and 
possibly  beneficial  to  that  State  at  large.  However  that  may  be,  it 
has  certainly  been  injurious  to  neighboring  States,  by  impeding  by 
its  example  the  amalgamation  of  parties.  Without  much  confidence 
either  in  the  wisdom  or  moderation  of  the  successful  candidate,  I 
still  hope  the  follies  of  Gerry's  administration  are  not  to  be  reacted. 
If  I  mistake  not,  the  spirit  of  the  times  does  not  require  it,  and  would 
ill  bear  it,  unless  excited  by  what  is  now  to  become  the  opposition. 

I  see  it  stated  in  the  papers,  that  Judge  Jackson  has  resigned. 
This  vacancy,  left  to  be  filled  by  the  successor  of  Governor  Brooks, 
would  I  think  add  much  to  the  security  of  the  bench.  Should  an 
individual  obnoxious  to  the  dominant  party  be  appointed,  ways  ana 
means  would  be  easily  devised  for  removing  him,  and  probably  his 
brethren  with  him.  This  State,  Connecticut,  and  New  York  furnish 
ample  evidence  that  in  times  of  party  excitement  judicial  offices  are 
no  more  permanent  or  secure  than  others. 

I  am  just  released  from  a  long  and  tedious  session  of  our  court. 
One  of  our  judges,  being  about  to  become  Governor,  :  a  thought  an 

1  Judge  Woodbury. 

a  Levi  Woodbury  (1789-1851).  American  jurist,  born  in  Francestown,  N. 
H.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth,  in  1809;  began  law  practice  in  Francestown; 
and  in  1816  was  appointed  clerk  of  New  Hampshire  Senate.  In  1817  he  became  a 
judge  of  the  State  Supreme  Court,  and  was  one  of  the  three  judges  that  sat  in 
the  Dartmouth  College  case,  when  tried  in  the  State  Court.  He  was  Governor  of 
New  Hampshire,  in  1823-4,  Speaker  of  the  Lower  House  of  Congress,  1825;  U. 
S.  Senator,  1825-31;  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  1831-34;  and  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  1834-41.  He  was  again  a  member  of  the  Federal  Senate,  1841-45;  As 
sociate  Justice  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  1845-51,  until  his  death.  His  politi 
cal,  judicial,  and  literary  writings  were  edited  by  Nahum  Capen  (3  vols.,  1852). 
Judge  Woodbury  said  of  Mason:  "In  a  profound  knowledge  of  several  branches 
of  jurisprudence,  and  in  some  of  the  most  choice  qualities  of  a  forensic  speaker, 
he  had  in  his  palmy  days,  not  merely  in  this  State  (Massachusetts)  or  New 
England,  but  in  this  whole  country  few  equals,  and  probably  no  superiors." 
Remarks  of  Judge  Woodbury,  upon  Mr.  Mason's  death,  U.  S.  Circuit  Court, 
Boston,  Oct.  17,  1848. 


266  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


attempt  to  clear  out  the  docket  would  add  to  his  glory.  This  occa 
sioned  a  long  adjourned  session  in  this  county.  I  intend  soon  after 
the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States,  which  will  begin  8th  May, 
to  go  to  Boston.  I  am  the  more  desirous  of  this,  as  I  anticipate  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  you  in  good  health.  With  my  and  Mrs.  Mason's 
best  respects  to  Mrs.  Gore, 

I  am  truly  and  affectionately  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

(271) 
JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  April  24,  1823. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,— I  see  that  by  an  act  of  the  last  session  your  cir 
cuit  is  to  commence  at  Portland  the  1st  of  May.  We  expect  Mrs. 
Story  will  accompany  you  to  Portland,  as  she  intended  to  do  so  one  or 
two  of  the  last  times  you  went  there.  We  shall  be  highly  gratified  if 
you  can  make  it  convenient  to  spend  a  day  or  two  with  us  as  you 
go  down.  We  shall  depend  at  all  events  on  your  coming  directly  to 
our  house,  and  remaining  for  the  night,  which  you  must  of  course 
spend  in  Portsmouth  when  on  your  way  to  Portland.  I  had  prom 
ised  myself  the  pleasure  of  going  with  you  to  Portland.  I  was  ap 
plied  to  to  argue  a  cause  pending  in  your  court  there.  But  I  believe 
it  is  agreed  to  be  continued,  which  will  deprive  me  of  the  excuse  for 
going.  Mr.  Webster  wrote  me  from  Washington,  a  few  days  ago,  to 
ask  you  for  a  letter  he  had  written  to  you,  of  and  concerning  the 
appointment  of  a  successor  of  Judge  Livingston.  I  feel  a  curiosity 
to  know  the  causes  of  the  unexpected  demur  that  has  happened  in 
that  matter,  and  wish  you  would  remember  to  put  the  letter  in 
your  pocket.  When  I  first  heard  of  the  death  of  Judge  Livingston, 
I  had  strong  hopes  that  Chancellor  Kent3  would  have  been  appoint- 

(272) 

*a  James  Kent  (1763-1847.)  "The  case  of  Griswold  v.  Waddington  (15th  and 
16th  Johnson's  Reports)  contains  more  elaborate  and  thorough  investigation  in 
to  the  consequences  of  a  war,  as  affecting  the  relations,  intercourse  and  con 
tracts  of  the  respective  subjects  of  the  hostile  parties,  than  is  to  be  found  in  any 
other  adjudicated  case,  or  in  any  treatise  on  the  subject,  in  our  own,  or  in  any 
foreign  language.  It  is  not  merely  a  judicial  opinion,  but  a  most  learned  and  ex- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  267 


ed ;  but  if  what  I  have  heard  intimated  be  true,  that  this  appointment 
is  embraced  in  the  calculations  of  the  present  great  political  juggle, 
whatever  may  be  the  cause  of  the  delay,  I  think  Chancellor  Kent 
stands  no  chance.  I  do  not  see  how  his  appointment  can  be  made 
to  answer  the  purpose  of  any  of  the  candidates.  With  best  regards 
to  Mrs.  Story,  in  which  Mrs.  Mason  joins  me, 

I  am,  as  ever,  truly  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  November  3,  1823. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  received,  a  few  days  ago,  the  package  herewith 
sent,  from  Sparhawk,  the  secretary  of  this  State,  containing,  as  he 
says,  several  pamphlets  of  our  statutes,  with  a  request  that  I  would 
see  them  forwarded  to  you.  I  suppose  this  is  intended  to  be  in  com 
pliance  with  a  resolve  passed  while  I  was  in  the  Legislature.  If  I 
rightly  remember,  that  resolve  directed  him  to  send  you  all  of  our 
statutes  then  in  force,  and  future  ones  as  published.  I  recollect  such 
was  the  purport  of  the  resolution  introduced,  and  something  was 
said  about  there  not  being  in  the  secretary's  office  a  complete  set  of 
the  statutes  in  print.  Whether  the  resolution  was  amended  in  con 
sequence  of  that  suggestion,  I  do  not  recollect.  But  I  do  remember 
speaking  to  Mr.  Sparhawk  on  the  subject,  and  he  promised  me  to 
send  you  the  volume  containing  our  last  edition  of  the  statutes,  and 

haustive  dissertation  on  this  branch  of  national  and  municipal  law,  embracing  a 
masterly  and  critical  analysis  of  all  the  cases  and  supporting  every  position  by 
an  irresistible  force  of  argument  and  weight  of  authority.  Like  the  famous 
treatise  of  Bynkershoeck  on  Public  Law,  it  ought  to  be  not  transiently  consulted, 
but  by  a  diligent  and  repeated  perusal,  should  be  transcribed  into  the  mind  of  the 
student."  —  Judge  Duer's  Discourse  on  Kent,  pp.  50-1. 

"English  schoolmen  may  discuss  the  various  merits  of  Nottingham,  Hard- 
wicke  and  Eldon  and  award  the  palm  to  the  one  or  the  other,  or  resort  to  nice 
distinctions  and  qualifications,  but  the  mere  mention  of  American  equity  suggests 
Kent,  at  once,  the  founder  and  expounder  of  Chancery  in  the  United  States.  That 
he  was  without  a  rival  in  this  particular  domain  is  but  faint  praise,  for  he  is 
without  a  competitor.  The  seven  volumes  of  Johnson's  Chancery  Reports  do  not 
admit  of  comparison."  —  Jas.  Brown  Scott  on  Kent,  2  "Great  American  Lawyers,'' 
p.  531. 


268  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


such  pamphlets  since  published  as  he  had  in  the  office,  'or  could 
procure.  In  case  you  have  not  received  them  and  will  inform  me, 
I  will  procure  them  for  you. 

I  have  a  letter  from  Mr.  Webster,  stating  that  Mr.  Clinton  has 
started  in  the  Presidential  race,  with  the  present  appearance  of  ex 
traordinary  popularity,  in  the  State  of  New  York.  He  seems  to 
think,  from  present  appearances,  that  Mr.  Clinton  stands  a  good 
chance  to  carry  the  State  of  New  York.  If  so,  it  increases  the  prob 
ability  that  the  election  will  be  decided  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  My  son  George  returned  last  evening  from  his  Western  pere 
grination.  He  returned  by  way  of  Detroit,  through  the  Lakes,  and 
is  full  of  stories  of  perils  by  land  and  by  water.  One  of  the  latter 
went  near  being  fatal  to  the  poor  fellow.  In  crossing  the  Hudson  at 
Albany,  he  imprudently — as  is  common  for  young  men  and  not  un 
common  for  old  men — sat  in  a  close  carriage.  By  a  mishap  the 
horses  with  the  carriage  went  out  of  the  boat  into  the  river,  where 
the  water  was  twenty  feet  deep.  He  luckily  crept  out  of  a  window 
and  hung  on  to  the  carriage  till  taken  off  by  another  boat,  (273) 
immediately  after  which  the  carriage  sank.  He  sustained  no  other 
inconvenience  than  a  thorough  ducking  in  the  cold  water,  and  the 
wetting  of  his  baggage,  which  was  afterwards  recovered.  He  has 
seen  a  good  deal  of  the  Western  world,  and  I  trust  will  derive  some 
benefit  from  it.  He  seems  not  to  be  desirous  of  returning  with  a 
view  of  a  residence  there.  I  am  sorry  he  had  no  opportunity  to 
deliver  the  letter  you  so  kindly  gave  him  to  Judge  Todd. 

With  my  and  Mrs.  Mason's  respects  to  Mrs.  Story,  I  am,  dear 
Sir,  as  ever,  truly  and  affectionately  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

PRINCETON,  November  20,  1823. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — We  are  thus  far  on  our  way  well,  and  without 
accident.  I  spent  two  or  three  days  in  New  York,  and  write  this 
principally  to  give  you  information  of  what  surprised  me,  and  will 
agreeably,  I  imagine,  surprise  you.  I  mean  the  extraordinary  present 
popularity  of  Mr.  Clinton.  I  was  in  no  manner  prepared  to  hear 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  269 


the  language,  held  in  the  city,  on  that  subject.  The  various  candi 
dates  for  the  Presidency,  or  their  friends,  now  seem  to  consider  him 
the  most  formidable  opponent,  as  far  as  that  State  is  concerned. 
What  from  the  natural  reaction  of  popular  sympathy,  in  favor  of 
one  who  is  supposed  to  have  been  hardly  used,  and  what  from  his 
now  acknowledged  merits,  as  connected  with  the  canal,  he  seems 
rising  very  strangely.  In  short,  his  friends  speak  with  great  con 
fidence  of  his  success  in  that  State,  and  with  almost  equal  confidence 
of  his  strength  in  Ohio.  This  gives  a  new  aspect  to  things,  and 
probably  renders  still  more  improbable  any  choice  by  the  electors. 
Mr.  Clinton's  friends,  and  Mr.  Calhoun's  friends,  at  this  moment, 
seem  to  think  the  only  controversy  in  New  York  must  be  between 
those  two.  They  admit  that  Mr.  Adams  has  a  great  body  of  well 
wishers  and  some  active  friends;  but  they  think  neither  class  is  in 
creasing  at  present.  And  Mr.  Crawford,  they  (274)  think,  or 
affect  to  think,  out  of  the  question.  In  the  mean  while  it  seems  to 
be  understood,  as  far  as  I  could  learn,  that  the  friends  of  Mr.  Clin 
ton  and  Mr.  Calhoun  would  go  along  amicably,  for  the  present,  at 
least,  and  until  public  opinion  should  more  fully  develop  itself.  In 
all  the  Middle  States,  there  is  such  a  fashion,  or  passion,  for  enter 
taining  projects  of  internal  improvement,  that  considerations  of 
that  sort  are  expected  to  have  influence  on  the  highest  elections. 
Foreign  relations  being  all  quiet  and  pacific,  and  no  high  party 
feelings  at  present  existing,  the  necessary  exitement  of  public  senti 
ment  seems  only  likely  to  be  found  in  schemes  of  internal  improve 
ment.  I  believe  you  and  I  have  the  fortune,  good  or  ill,  to  have 
committed  ourselves  in  favor  of  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress 
to  aid  such  objects. 

I  hope  to  find  a  letter  from  you  at  Washington.  Mr.  Stockton's 
good  family  are  all  well,  and  desire  their  respects  to  your  family. 
Julia  is  at  New  Bedford  for  the  winter. 

Yours,  most  truly, 

D.  WEBSTER. 


270  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

DANIEL   WEBSTER   TO   JEREMIAH    MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  November  30,  1823.    Sunday  Evening. 

DEAR  SIR, — We  arrived  here  on  Wednesday  evening  safe  and 
well,  after  a  journey  which  on  the  whole  was  pleasant  and  agreeable. 
Our  lodgings  were  ready,  and  are  very  comfortable.  The  attendance 
of  members  is  uncommonly  large,  and  we  shall  have  a  quorum,  no 
doubt,  tomorrow.  Mr.  Clay  arrived  last  evening.  He  will  doubtless 
be  Speaker,  although  I  understand  Mr.  Harbour's  friends  intend  to 
run  him.  It  will  not  go.  Mr.  Clay's  popularity  as  Speaker  is  great, 
and  he  is,  in  many  respects,  a  liberal  and  honorable  man.  His 
health  is  not  good,  but  I  fancy  not  so  bad  as  to  induce  him  to  decline 
the  chair.  Though  I  think  him  tolerably  liberal,  and  not  unfriendly 
in  his  general  feeling,  yet  I  do  not  suppose  that  in  the  organization 
and  arrangement  of  the  affairs  of  the  House  he  will  (275)  venture 
to  disregard  old  lines  of  distinction.  Mr.  King  has  arrived,  but  I 
have  not  seen  him.  Both  your  Senators  are  here. 

I  have  not  seen  much  here  yet  to  add  to  the  stock  of  knowledge 
on  the  subject  of  the  Presidential  election.  It  looks  to  me,  however, 
at  present,  as  if  it  might  happen  that  Mr.  Crawford  would  ere  long 
be  given  up  and  his  friends  go  off  in  a  direction  to  Mr.  Clay.  It  ap 
pears  to  me  to  be  our  true  policy  to  oppose  all  caucuses, — so  far,  our 
course  seems  to  me  to  be  clear.  Beyond  that  I  do  not  think  we  are 
bound  to  proceed,  at  present.  To  defeat  caucus  nominations  (or 
prevent  them),  and  to  give  the  election,  wherever  it  can  be  done,  to 
the  people,  are  the  best  means  of  restoring  the  body  politic  to  its 
natural  and  wholesome  state. 

Mrs.  Webster  sends  a  great  deal  of  love  to  you  all. 

Yours,  most  truly,  D.  WEBSTER. 

I  hope  you  have  not  abandoned  an  idea  which  you  intimated  to 
me  at  Dorchester.  I  think  you  will  do  exceedingly  right  to  take 
that  step,  and  am  sure  you  will  not  regret  it.  It  will  excite  no  jeal 
ousy  or  suspicion  here,  at  all ;  and  you  have  reasons  which  will  allay 
any  that  might  arise  at  home. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  271 

JOSEPH  STORY  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

SALEM,  December  2,   1823. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  forwarding  to  me 
the  pamphlet  laws  of  New  Hampshire.  I  have  never  received  those 
passed  at  June  sessions  of  1819  and  1820,  so  that  my  series  since 
the  publication  of  the  first  volume  is  broken.  I  should  be  very  glad 
to  obtain  the  missing  laws  of  1819  and  1820,  and  if  the  Secretary  of 
State  could  furnish  me  with  them  it  would  be  quite  a  favor. 

I  had  not  heard  from  Mr.  Webster,  until  I  received  your  letter, 
since  his  departure.  The  new  Presidential  candidate  quite  surprises 
me.  But  he  is  a  buoyant  man,  and  though  I  think  his  chance  very 
small,  it  may  probably  send  the  choice  to  the  House  of  (276)  Repre 
sentatives.  I  still  incline  to  think  Mr.  Adams'  chance  upon  the 
electoral  vote,  better  than  that  of  any  other  candidate.  But  there 
are  so  many  slips  between  the  cup  and  the  lip,  that  I  do  not  even 
pretend  to  prophesy.  Mr.  Calhoun  is  acquiring  friends  who  will 
steadily  aid  him ;  but  it  appears  to  me  that  he  has  very  great  obstacles 
to  overcome,  whether  the  choice  be  with  the  people  or  with  the  House 
of  Representatives.  I  dare  say  I  shall  hear  much  and  see  much  on 
the  grand  arena  at  Washington  this  winter. 

I  have  lately  received  a  letter  from  Judge  Jackson,  in  which  he 
speaks  pleasantly  of  his  reception  in  England.  He  says  that  the 
English  are  very  reserved  to  persons  who  are  not  regularly  intro 
duced  to  them,  but  when  certified  of  your  character  and  domicil  they 
are  as  hospitable  and  frank  as  any  people.  He  thinks  American 
society  is  very  much  courted  in  England,  particularly  by  the  higher 
classes  of  society.  He  has  received  many  civilities  from  accidental 
acquaintances,  which  gave  him  very  favorable  impressions.  For 
tunately,  my  letter  to  Lord  Stowell  was  useful  to  him,  for  his  lord 
ship  immediately  called  on  him  and  showed  him  great  civility.  This 
leads  me  to  say  that  I  have  lately  received  a  letter  from  Lord 
Stowell,  with  a  beautifully  bound  copy  of  his  ecclesiastical  decisions 
in  the  Consistory  Court  in  London,  in  two  volumes.  He  apologizes 
for  not  having  written  me  before,  and  states  that  ill-health,  old  age, 
and  the  death  of  friends  have  so  absorbed  his  time,  that  he  has 
voluntarily  done  nothing  beyond  his  official  duties.  He  mentions 


272  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


that  the  common-law  courts  are  in  a  sad  state.  Lord  C.  J.  Dallas, 
Chief  Baron  Richards,  and  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  (Sir  T.  Plumer), 
are  in  very  ill  health,  and  some  of  the  puisne  judges  also;  so  that  a 
good  deal  of  the  business  is  done  by  Serjeants,  which  does  not  give 
satisfaction.  The  sick  judges  cannot  retire,  because  they  have  not 
served  long  enough  to  entitle  them  to  the  retiring  pension.  I  was 
not  before  aware  that  there  was  any  particular  period  fixed  for  this 
purpose.  But  you  may  see  that  everything  in  England  settles 
down  upon  established  usages.  He  mentions  also  the  attacks  in 
Parliament  on  Lord  Eldon,  and  confidently  believes  (277)  he  can 
vindicate  himself.  When  we  next  meet  you  shall  read  it  at  large, 
and  I  am  sure  it  will  gratify  you.  By  the  way,  I  find  by  late  English 
papers,  that  both  Lord  Eldon  and  Lord  Stowell  have  been  seriously 
ill.  At  their  ages  (seventy -five  to  seventy-seven),  it  can  hardly  be 
expected  that  they  should  be  able  to  work  much  longer,  but  ho% 
their  places  are  to  be  supplied,  I  cannot  conjecture 

Yours  most  truly  and  affectionately, 

JOSEPH  STORY. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

PORTSMOUTH,  December  29,  1823. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  seen  the  report  of  the  Judiciary  Committee 
of  the  last  session,  which  you  mention.  The  first  mentioned  project, 
of  adding  two  more  judges  to  the  Supreme  Court,  is  in  my  opinion 
entitled  to  very  little  consideration.  The  reasons  mentioned  against 
it  in  the  report  are  sufficient.  Another,  and  perhaps  not  less 
weighty  reason,  is  that  such  increase  of  the  number  of  judges  would 
greatly  lessen  their  individual  responsibility,  which  with  most  men 
constitutes  the  strongest  security  for  diligence  and  faithfulness  in 
the  performance  of  public  trusts. 

Much  better  than  that  is  the  third  proposal,  which  is  to  make  two 
circuit  courts  for  the  Western  States  with  judges,  who  are  not  to  be 
members  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  want  of  courts  in  those  States 
is  certainly  an  evil,  which  Congress  is  bound  in  some  way  to  remedy. 
The  establishment  of  cirucit  courts  there,  on  this  plan,  seems  to 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  273 


furnish  a  ready  remedy  for  the  evil  there.  These  courts  will  be 
anomalous  in  our  system,  but  not  more  so  than  the  present  district 
courts  in  those  States,  with  the  powers  of  circuit  courts,  are.  No 
objection  arising  from  any  provision  of  the  Constitution  against  es 
tablishing  such  courts  occurs  to  me.  It  will  probably  tend  to  a  long 
continuance  of  irregularities  in  the  system  and  mar  its  beauty.  Con 
gress  will  soon  be  pressed  to  establish  similar  courts  in  some  of  the 
present  circuits,  where,  by  reason  of  their  great  extent,  or  the  (278) 
age  or  infirmities  of  the  judges  assigned  to  them,  it  will  be  said  they 
cannot  discharge  the  duties  of  circuit  judges.  On  the  whole,  I  think 
this  plan  ought  to  be  adopted,  if  nothing  better  can  be  done. 

But  I  prefer  the  second  project  in  the  report,  which  is  to  create 
circuit  courts  on  the  plan  of  those  of  1801.  The  only  objection 
against  that  mentioned  in  the  report,  is  that  those  courts  were  tried 
and  abolished.  This  rests  wholly  on  party  feelings.  Whether  those 
feelings  have  subsided  sufficiently  to  do  away  the  force  of  this  reason, 
I  cannot  judge.  The  reason  then  urged,  that  the  courts  were  un 
necessary,  cannot  now  apply  with  equal  if  with  any  force.  Since 
the  repeal  of  the  act  creating  those  courts,  the  population  of  the 
United  States  has  doubled,  and  the  litigation  in  the  courts  more  than 
twice  doubled. 

Something  like  this  plan  must,  I  think,  in  the  end  be  adopted, 
and  if  it  would  be  done  now  it  would  be  better  than  to  postpone  to  a 
later  period  or  introduce  it  by  degrees.  I  think  this  desirable  for 
many  reasons.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  the  United  States 
ought  to  be  enlarged  to  the  extent  of  the  Constitution,  except  in 
small  cases  of  trivial  importance.  The  courts  are  the  only  source 
from  which  the  nation  can  hope  for  a  system  of  jurisprudence 
worthy  of  it.  From  the  States'  courts  nothing  can  be  expected. 
The  vacillating  policy  of  our  little  petty  States,  leading  to  such  fre 
quent  changes  in  the  organization  of  their  courts  and  more  frequent 
changes  of  judges,  forbids  all  hope  of  system  or  consistency  in  adju 
dications.  Of  this  the  judicial  history  of  New  England  for  thirty 
years  past  furnishes  sufficient  evidence. 

The  late  resolution  in  New  York  tends  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
large  States  have  no  better  foundation  for  hope.  For  the  business 
that  ought  to  be  done  in  the  national  courts,  the  present  establishment 
does  not  afford  a  sufficient  number  of  judges.  I  make  no  account  of 


274  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


the  district  judges.  When  brought  to  act  in  matters  of  serious  im 
portance,  as  members  of  the  circuit  court,  none  of  them,  as  far  as  I 
know,  have  been,  or  are  of  any  value.  Out  of  their  own  district 
courts  they  do  nothing.  This  leaves  the  whole  labor  and  (279) 
weight  to  be  borne  by  the  seven  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  In 
my  opinion,  they  ought  not  to  be  made  to  bear  either.  In  some  of 
the  circuits  the  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  can  do  the  present 
business.  That  is  the  case  in  this  circuit.  The  business  here  is 
probably  now  as  well,  and  perhaps  better,  done  than  it  would  be  by 
a  court  on  the  proposed  plan.  But  this  depends  on  the  character  of 
the  judge,  and  the  smallness  of  his  circuit.  It  was  very  different 
during  Judge  Cushing's  time.  While  he  presided  in  the  circuit 
courts,  nothing  of  importance  was  or  could  be  done  there.  And  this 
at  some  period  has  been  the  case  in  other  circuits.  In  some  circuits 
the  business  is  said  to  be  too  much  for  a  single  individual,  in  addi 
tion  to  his  duties  as  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court.  This  has  been 
said  of  the  western  circuit.  But  it  seems  to  me  improper  that  the 
business  of  a  court  of  extensive  and  important  jurisdiction  should 
depend  even  on  the  health  of  a  single  individual. 

I  think,  also,  there  ought  to  be  two  sessions  yearly  of  the  Su 
preme  Court,  which  cannot  be  while  the  judges  hold  the  circuit 
courts.  Trials  there  are  often  delayed  for  want  of  time,  to  the 
great  inconvenience  of  the  parties.  But  what  is  still  worse,  decisions 
are  sometimes  made,  and  opinions  drawn  up  and  delivered,  in  haste 
to  prevent  the  delay  of  another  year. 

More  courts  and  judges  are  also  wanted  for  the  purpose  of  ena 
bling  them  better  to  defend  themselves  and  their  jurisdiction.  In  all 
the  attacks  on  the  judiciary,  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  alone 
and  unaided,  have  been  obliged  to  fight  the  battle.  The  poor  dis 
trict  judges  have  never  been  thought  of  in  the  attacks,  or  felt  in  the 
defense, — a  larger  corps  of  judges  would  afford  more  strength  and 
stability. 

This  course  tends  obviously  to  the  extension  and  more  thorough 
establishment  of  the  judicial  power  of  the  national  government,  and 
for  this  reason  will  be  apt  to  meet  with  opposition  from  those  who 
are  hostile  to  that  power.  How  powerful  such  opposition  would  be, 
I  cannot  conjecture,  although  I  think  this  the  best  plan,  and  that  it 
ought  not  to  be  abandoned ;  yet  were  I  in  your  situation  I  would  (280) 


JEREMIAH    MASON. 
Taken  soon  after  his  marriage  at  age  of  thirty-one. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  275 


not  propose  it  at  this  time  unless  I  saw  a  tolerable  prospect  of  suc 
cess.  The  attempt  if  unsuccessful  would  be  injurious,  as  it  would 
tend  to  put  off  the  time  of  its  final  accomplishment  to  a  period  more 
distant  than  otherwise  might  be. 

Your  motion  in  favor  of  the  Greeks  has  produced  some  excite 
ment.  Our  good  people  here  talk  of  doing  something  by  way  of  con 
tribution.  Mr.  James  Sheafe,  and  some  others  of  the  discreet  mer 
chants,  say  they  fear  it  will  offend  the  Turks  and  endanger  their  ves 
sels  in  the  Mediterranean. 

Yours  truly,  J.  MASON. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER   TO   JEREMIAH   MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  15,  1824. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — The  caucus  was  holden  last  night,  and  you  will 
see  its  result.  The  number  attending  was  smaller  than  was  expected ; 
and  it  seems  to  me  the  measure  is  more  likely  to  hurt  than  to  help 
Mr.  Crawford.  You  will  observe  that  a  majority  of  three  States 
only  attended.  This  is  an  awful  intimation  of  what  will  be  the  con 
sequence  if  the  election  should  come  into  the  House  of  Representa 
tives;  and  I  fully  believe  it  must  come  there.  It  does  on  the  whole 
now  seem  to  me  extremely  probable  that  Mr.  Crawford's  prospects 
are  at  an  end.  Even  with  New  York  he  can  have  little  hope.  The 
Pennsylvania  Convention  will  meet  the  4th  of  March,  and  I  presume 
will  nominate  either  Jackson  or  Calhoun,  and  probable  the  former. 
If  so,  Mr.  Calhoun  will  be  no  longer  a  candidate.  Then  the  question 
is,  who  will  be  the  three  candidates  presented  to  the  House.  Mr. 
Adams  certainly  will  be  one.  If  Mr.  Crawford  gets  New  York,  he 
will  be  one;  but  he  should  not,  and  I  doubt  whether  he  will,  he  will 
not  come  in  to  nomination,  in  which  case  the  other  two  will  be  Clay 
and  Jackson.  Mr.  Crawford  being  out  of  the  case,  Virginia,  it  is 
thought  by  Mr.  Tazewell,  would  be  not  unlikely  to  go  for  Mr.  Adams ; 
and  she  might  (281)  influence  Maryland  and  North  Carolina  so 

36 

that  the  present  aspect  of  affairs  looks  to  me  favorable  to  that  gentle 
man.  But  the  moon  does  not  change  so  often  as  the  prospects  of 
these  candidates.  One  thing  is  observable :  they  are  all,  just  now, 
—19 


276  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


very  civil  toward  Federalists.  We  see  and  hear  no  abuse  of  us  ex 
cept  in  some  places  in  New  England.  I  hope  all  our  friends  will  see 
the  propriety  of  keeping  very  quiet,  at  present.  Our  time  for  action 
has  not  come,  but  is  aproaching.  I  hope  your  election  of  governor 
wrill  not  be  made  to  mingle  Presidential  matter  with  it.  I  presume 
the  old  democratic  regular  party,  or  its  accustomed  leaders  in  New 
Hampshire,  will  now  feel  authorized  and  obliged  to  support  Craw 
ford.  Others  of  the  party  will  not.  There  will  of  course  be  a  schism, 
and  it  will  be  time  enough  six  months  hence  to  decide  what  course  of 
conduct  the  case  requires  from  Federalists.  The  election  in  Massa 
chusetts  is  important  in  the  same  view.  I  think  it  not  unlikely  it 
may  result  in  a  Federal  Legislature,  which,  if  done  without  bringing 
up  the  question  of  President,  may  be  of  some  importance.  The  Court 
is  going  on  very  well;  the  business  this  term  is  likely  to  be  not  as 
heavy  as  usual.  We  have  no  opinion  yet  in  the  Steamboat  Cause; 
but  I  presume  there  can  be  no  doubt  how  it  will  go.  The  case  of 
collision,  is,  I  think,  unquestionably  made  out;  and  I  have  no  doubt 
the  Court  will  decide,  that  so  far  as  respects  commerce  between 
different  States  (which  is  this  case),  the  law  of  New  York  is  in 
operative.  Possibly  the  navigation  of  the  New  York  waters  between 
port  and  port  in  her  own  territory,  may  be  subject  to  different  con 
sideration.  I  have  as  yet  reported  no  bill  on  the  judiciary,  but  incline 
to  think  we  shall  recommend  a  partial  system  of  circuit  judges.  If 
we  had  more  confidence  as  to  the  course  the  appointing  power  would 
take,  we  might  act  differently.  I  find  your  Mr.  Plumer,  who  is  on 
the  committee  with  me,  a  very  pleasant  and  respectable  man.  I  see 
more  of  him  than  of  all  the  rest  of  your  delegation.  Of  the  com 
pliments  my  Greek  speech  has  received,  I  value  your  letter  more 
than  all ;  for  although  you  say  of  course  as  much  as  you  think,  I 
presume  your  real  opinion  is  so  favorable  that  (282)  you  believe 
the  speech  reputable.  I  am  quite  satisfied  with  that.  The  motion 
ought  to  have  been  adopted,  and  would  have  been  by  a  general  vote, 
but  for  certain  reasons  which  the  public  will  never  know,  and  which 
I  will  not  trouble  you  with  now.  I  could  divide  the  House  very 
easily  on  the  subject  now,  and  perhaps  carry  a  vote.  Whether  I  shall 
stir  it  again  must  be  considered.  Mr.  Adams'  opposition  to  it  was 
the  most  formidable  obstacle.  You  saw  how  Messrs.  Clay  and 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  277 


Bartlett3  settled  their  matter,  or,  rather,  how  somebody  else  settled 
it  for  them.  I  presume  you  are  right  as  to  the  motive  which  led 
Bartlett  to  speak  a  conned  speech  against  my  motion.  That  was  all 
fair  enough.  At  least  I  could  not  complain.  But  when  he  brought 
into  debate  his  broad  Dover  court  wit,  I  thought  it  better  to  settle 
the  account  on  the  spot.  A  similar  motive,  I  fancy,  influenced  a  few 
other  creatures  from  New  England;  but  I  am  bound  to  say,  that 
out  of  New  England,  I  do  not  think  it  influenced  more  than  two  or 
three  members. 

Mrs.  Webster  and  our  children  here  are  quite  well.  We  all  send 
our  love  to  Mrs.  Mason  and  the  family;  among  whom  we  hear  you 
have  the  pleasure  to  reckon  Julia  Stockton.  Her  brother  left  here 
for  home  three  days  ago.  He  is  to  come  back  in  a  fortnight  or 
three  weeks.  Yours  always, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

CHRISTOPHER  GORE  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

BOSTON,  February  22,  1824. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  thank  you  for  a  letter  some  time  since  received, 
and  entertained  hopes  that  you  might  visit  our  city  while  we  re 
mained  in  its  precincts.  The  warm  weather  of  yesterday,  and  aspar 
agus  from  Waltham — not,  however,  from  the  open  ground — excited 
a  wish  of  being  in  the  country.  The  storm  of  this  day  dissipates  such 
desires,  and  we  are  content  under  the  guardianship  of  Mr.  Quincy. 
You  will  have  seen  the  eloquent  speeches  of  our  friend  Webster 
and  others.  Randolph  was  quite  amusing,  and  many  think  (283) 
more  wise  and  correct  than  usual.  Indeed,  it  is  generally  considered 
here  that  after  the  flourish  of  Mr.  Monroe  and  the  members  of  Con 
gress,  the  business  ended  as  well  as  could  be  wished,  though  Pro 
fessor  Everett  may  be  disappointed  of  a  foreign  mission.  The  House 
of  Representatives,  I  fear,  are  more  noxiously  employed  now  in  pro 
viding  means  for  employing  the  Treasury  and  corrupting  the  peo 
ple,  under  the  title  of  promoting  internal  improvements.  It  remains 

aThis  refers  to  Ichabod  Bartlett,  who  was  in  the  lower  house  of  Congress  at 
this  time,  and  came  very  nearly  having  a  duel  with  Henry  Clay.  See  Vol.  1, 
Green  Bag,  1889— article,  "Ichabod  Bartlett." 


278  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


to  be  seen  if  the  new  tariff  can  supply  all  that  may  be  wanted  for 
these  purposes,  should  this,  as  I  cannot  but  feel  unwise,  measure 
succeed. 

Crawford  appears  to  have  gained  a  nomination.  The  effect  of 
this  will  be  something  in  his  favor.  Whether  the  rebellious  spirit  of 
Democracy  will  resist  Chandler  and  Co.  is  doubtful.  Adams'  sun 
does  not  appear  very  bright.  His  brother  Democrats  are  willing  to 
surrender  him,  if  a  caucus  of  true  Republicans  at  Washington  pre 
fer  another. 

Mr.  0.,  you  will  see,  is  again  before  the  public,  not  as  a  candidate 
for  the  chair  of  state,  but  as  member  of  the  Hartford  Convention, 
which  his  opponents  have  rendered  odious,  and  have  tainted  him  so 
deeply  with,  that  the  dye  can  hardly  be  removed  by  his  ink,  though 
profusely  spent 

When  the  spring  opens  and  we  return  to  the  shades  of  Waltham, 
may  we  flatter  ourselves  with  an  expectation  of  seeing  Mrs.  Mason 
and  yourself;  leave  room  at  least  for  one  day  from  her  relations  in 
the  city  to  visit  her  friends  in  the  country. 

With  our  best  regards  to  your  wife  and  children,  I  remain, 

Ever  faithfully  yours, 

C.  GORE. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  April  12,  1824. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  After  congratulating  you  on  your  safe  return 
from  the  fatigues  of  your  session  at  Washington,  I  wish  to  inform 

(284) 

you  that  I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Webster  saying  that 
it  is  rumored  at  Washington  that  Judge  Sherburne  had  resigned, 
but  that  official  information  had  not  been  received  of  his  resigna 
tion;  that  all  the  Representatives  of  this  State,  with  the  exception 
of  Mr.  Plumer,  had  signed  a  recommendation  for  Judge  Livermore 
as  his  successor ;  that  Mr.  Parrott,  also  of  the  Senate,  had  signed  the 
paper,  and  that  Mr.  Bell  was  restrained  by  considerations  of  delicacy. 
This  information,  Mr.  Webster  says,  was  communicated  confidentially 
to  him,  and  must  be  used  accordingly.  He  has  probably  given 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  279 


you  the  same  information,  if  not  I  am  certain  he  could  have  no  ob 
jection  that  you  should  know  it.  For  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
how  the  fact  as  to  the  resignation  was,  two  persons  this  forenoon, 
went  in  succession  to  Judge  Sherburne  and  told  him  there  was  a 
rumor  he  had,  or  was  about  to  resign.  He  replied  to  each  of  them 
that  there  was  no  manner  of  foundation  for  it;  that  he  neither  had 
resigned  nor  intended  to  resign.  Notwithstanding  this  reiterated 
assertion,  one  of  the  gentlemen,  who  is  very  competent  to  form  a 
correct  opinion,  tells  me  that  he  is  satisfied,  from  the  Judge's  manner 
of  talking  on  the  subject,  that  he  either  has  resigned  or  is  in  some 
negotiation  for  so  doing.  He  says  the  Judge  seemed  to  have  his 
recollection  better  than  usual  for  some  time  past.  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  he  has  sent  on  his  resignation  to  Washington,  to  be  de 
livered  or  retained,  as  may  be  thought  best  by  some  person  there. 
I  am  very  desirous  that  Nat.  A.  Haven,  jun.,  should  be  appointed  to 
this  place,  whenever  there  is  a  vacancy.  He  is  in  all  respects  suit 
able  for  it.  You  probably  may  recollect  a  conversation  we  had  last 
autumn  with  Mr.  Webster.  Under  the  present  circumstances,  it 
seems  awkward  to  do  anything,  as  it  is  possible  Judge  S.  has  not 
resigned,  and  I  wish  that  may  prove  to  be  the  case,  for  I  fear  the 
combined  influence  of  our  members  of  Congress.  If  no  objection 
to  such  course  occurs  to  you,  I  wish  you  would  write  one  or  more 
letters  recommending  Mr.  Haven,  and  send  them  inclosed  to  Mr. 
Webster,  to  be  used  on  such  contingency  as  you  may  prescribe,  or 
at  his  discretion,  if  you  think  best.  I  shall  write  to  (285)  him  in 
that  way.  But  no  great  influence  from  this  State  can  be  made  against 
the  united  recommendation  of  our  delegation 

With  the  greatest  esteem,  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

PORTSMOUTH,  April  12,  1824. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  It  is  rumored  here  that  Judge  Sherburne  has 
resigned.  The  Judge  peremptorily  contradicts  it,  and  says  that  he 
neither  has  nor  intends  to  resign.  Still,  from  what  I  have  heard,  I 
cannot  but  believe  that  there  is  something  like  a  negotiation  on  the 


280  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


subject  going  on. 

In  case  the  Judge  shall  resign,  I  am  desirous  that  Nat.  A.  Haven, 
jun.,  should  fill  the  vacancy,  His  fine  natural  talents,  high  legal 
and  literary  attainments,  united  with  the  most  entire  purity  of  mind 
and  character,  render  him  eminently  suitable  for  a  judicial  situa 
tion.  If  you  will  make  his  real  merits  known  to  the  government, 
I  have  great  confidence  in  the  belief  that  he  will  be  appointed.  I 
am  with  the  greatest  esteem, 

Your  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  April  13,  1824. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  thank  you  for  several  packages  of  Congres 
sional  documents,  which  I  have  received  during  the  present  session 
under  your  frank.  I  have  read  your  speech  on  the  "Central  Power," 
with  much  interest.  It  was  in  my  opinion  well  timed  and  admira 
bly  calculated  to  awaken  the  public  attention  on  a  most  important  sub 
ject.  The  debate  was  rude,  and,  as  reported,  in  some  instances  vulgar, 
and  must  consequently  have  been  painful.  This  certainly  (286) 
ought  to  have  been  checked.  But  I  do  not  comprehend  the  grounds 
on  which  the  President  ruled  the  subject-matter  to  be  irrelevant 
and  out  of  order.  The  danger  of  this  power  is,  I  trust,  fast  becom 
ing  more  palpable.  It  cannot  bear  open  discussion.  The  attempt 
to  exercise  it  on  the  late  occasion  seem  to  me  to  have  been  ill-judged. 
A  very  considerable  portion  of  those  intended  to  have  been  con 
trolled,  instead  of  submitting  will  go  into  open  rebellion.  I  have 
done  forming  conjectures  of  the  final  result  of  the  Presidential  elec 
tion.  The  prospects  of  the  candidates  are  more  changeable  than 
the  moon.  The  newspapers,  which  hitherto  have  been  the  great 
engine  for  operating  on  public  opinion,  are  for  the  most  part  sus 
pected  of  being  so  thoroughly  pledged  for  the  support  of  their 
respected  favorites  that  they  have  on  this  subject  lost  a  part  of  their 
accustomed  influence. 

All  this  quarter  is  supposed  to  belong  to  Mr.  Adams,  and  so  it 
does  at  the  present  time,  and  it  is  probable  he  may  hold  it  long 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  281 


enough  for  his  occasion ;  this,  however,  is  not  quite  certain.  He  has 
few  personal  friends,  and  no  very  strong  hold  on  their  public  feel 
ings.  A  tremor  in  the  popular  pulse  is  often  perceptible.  His 
greatest  security  consists  in  the  want  of  favor  here  for  either  of  the 
opposing  candidates,  and  not  in  attachment  to  him. 

I  was  sorry  to  see  the  public  avowal  of  your  determination  to  re 
tire  from  the  Senate  at  the  close  of  the  present  Congress.  I  had 
entertained  hopes  that  you  would  have  retained  your  situation  there 
for  another  term.  Your  retiring  will  create  a  vacancy  which  I  have 
no  expectation  of  seeing  effectually  filled.  In  whatever  situation 
you  may  be,  my  warmest  wishes  for  your  prosperity  and  happiness 
will  always  follow  you.  I  am,  with  the  greatest  esteem, 

Most  sincerely  yours,  J.  MASON. 

(287) 

DANIEL   WEBSTER   TO   JEREMIAH   MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  April  19,  1824. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  hear  nothing  further  about  the  resignation.  The 
members  here  now  think  it  has  not  taken  place.  I  hope  it  has  not. 
Possibly  the  events  of  the  summer  may  enable  you  to  get  up  a 
respectable  interest  for  Mr.  Haven.  The  Senate  will  probably  take 
up  the  Tariff  Bill  to-morrow,  and  an  attempt  will  be  made  to  com 
mit  it  to  a  select  committee.  It  is  generally  thought  the  Senate  will 
a  good  deal  modify,  or  altogether  reject  the  measure.  But  this  is 
not  very  certain,  as  the  majority  is  not  large  either  way.  We  have 
heard  a  good  deal  of  nonsense  on  this  subject,  and  some  of  it  from 
high  quarters.  I  think  you  will  be  surprised  at  Mr.  Clay's*  speech. 
It  is  printed,  and  I  shall  send  you  a  copy.  My  speech  will  be  printed, 
and  you  will  get  it.1  Whatever  I  have  done  in  other  cases,  I  must 

a"Clay  was  a  man  of  large  natural  ability,  but  he  lacked  the  training  of  a 
systematic  education.  He  learned  early  to  appreciate  the  heaven-born  endow 
ments,  and  to  rely  upon  them  for  success  in  his  chosen  career.  Of  sanguine  tem- 
perment,  quick  perception,  irresistible  energy,  and  enthusiastic  disposition,  he 
was  well  fitted  to  be  a  party  advocate,  and  was  the  greatest  parliamentary 
leader  in  our  history.  Jefferson,  Clay  and  Elaine  have  been  our  three  greatest 

1  This  was  M;r.  Webster's  speech  on  the  tariff,  delivered  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  April  2,  1824. 


282  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


say  that  in  this  I  have  published  it  against  my  own  judgment.  I 
was  not  expecting  to  speak  at  that  time,  nor  ready  to  do  so.  And 
from  Mr.  Clay's  ending,  I  had  but  one  night  to  prepare.  The  ideas 
are  right  enough,  I  hope,  but  as  a  speech  it  is  clumsy,  wanting  in 
method,  and  tedious.  We  have  rather  a  calm  about  the  Presidential 
election.  There  is  nothing  in  my  opinion,  at  present,  to  change  the 
expectation  that  Messrs.  Adams,  Crawford,  and  Jackson  will  come 
to  the  House.  In  two  or  three  days,  I  believe  we  shall  try  to  fix  a 
day  for  adjournments.  I  hope  very  much  to  get  home  before  you 
go  to  Concord,  and  see  you.  I  will  keep  you  informed  of  the  events 
bearing  on  this  point,  and  if  I  get  home,  you  must  come  up  to  Boston. 
Among  other  things,  hope  you  mean  to  district  the  State  for  the 
choice  of  members  to  Congress.  My  great  business  of  the  session 
remains  yet  undone,  that  is,  to  get  through  the  law  for  paying  the 
Spanish  claims.  We  apprehend  some  trouble  about  it  from  quarters 
where  we  did  not  expect  it.  Mr.  King  thinks  we  ought  to  take  stock, 
payable  both  (288)  as  to  principal  and  interest,  out  of  the  Florida 
land  sales!  I  hope  he  will  withdraw  his  opposition  to  the  proposed 
bill  (which  provides  for  payment  in  cash),  or  that  we  shall  be  able 
to  overcome  it. 

tacticians,  and  their  followers  were  greatly  depressed  when  any  one  of  these 
heroes  was  defeated.  Clay  was  inclined  to  'crack  the  whip'  over  those  of  his  sup 
porters  who  exhibited  a  desire  to  hang  back  and  question  whither  his  impetuous 
lead  would  tend.  He  knew  men  well,  but  he  had  no  knowledge  of  books.  The 
gaming-table  had  for  him  allurements  that  he  could  not  find  in  the  library. 
According  to  the  manner  of  his  time,  he  drank  to  excess.  His  warm  heart  made 
him  a  multitude  of  friends;  his  impulsive  action  and  positive  bearing  raised  up 
enemies ;  yet  at  his  death  he  left  not  an  enemy  behind  him.  He  was  withal  a  man 
of  inflexible  integrity.  Straightened  in  pecuniary  circumstances  during  a  large 
portion  of  his  congressional  career,  he  nevertheless  held  himself  aloof  from  all 
corruption.  Other  Americans  have  been  intellectually  greater,  others  have  been 
more  painstaking,  others  still  have  been  greater  benefactors  to  their  country; 
yet  no  man  has  been  loved  as  the  people  of  the  United  States  loved  Henry  Clay/' 
-  1  James  Ford  Rhodes'  History  of  United  States,  120. 

Webster  said  of  him:  "I  think  he  never  was  a  man  of  books,  a  hard  stu 
dent;  but  he  has  displayed  remarkable  genius.  He  has  been  too  fond  of  excite 
ment, —  he  has  lived  upon  it;  he  has  been  too  fond  of  company,  not  enough  alone; 
and  has  few  resources  within  himself.  Now  a  man  who  cannot,  to  some  extent, 
depend  upon  himself  for  happiness,  is  to  my  mind  one  of  the  unfortunate." 
Henry  Clay  was  born  in  Virginia,  1777,  read  law  with  Chancellor  Wythe;  and 
died  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  June  29,  1852. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  283 


Mrs.  W.  and  the  children  are  very  well.  We  all  begin  to  be  very 
desirous  of  going  home.  Please  remember  us  most  affectionately  to 
your  family.  Yours  very  truly, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  April  24,  1824, 

DEAR  SIR,  —  The  newspapers  will  have  apprised  you  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  House  of  Representatives  upon  the  receipt  of 
the  letter  of  Mr.  Edwards,  preferring  charges  against  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury.1  The  committee  composed  of  able  members,  of 
whom  our  friend  W.  is  one,  have  dispatched  the  deputy  sergeant- 
at-arms  to  Illinois,  to  require  the  attendance  of  Edwards  before  the 
committee  for  examination.  Whether  they  will  serve  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  with  a  copy  of  Edwards'  memorial,  and  call  for  his 
defense,  I  have  not  heard,  nor  has  there  yet  been  time  for  considera 
tion  and  decision.  The  fact  is  the  proceedings  are  of  first  impres 
sion,  and  the  course  is  to  be  discovered  and  adopted  by  the  committee. 
I  have  reason  to  think  that  your  counsel  would  be  useful,  and  lead 
to  confidence  in  the  prosecution  of  this  affair.  The  joint  committee 
have  agreed  to  recommend  to  the  two  Houses  to  adjourn  on  the  17th 
of  May,  and  there  is  now  no  reason  to  believe  that  Edwards  will 
be  able  to  appear  before  the  committee  by  that  day.  If  the  com 
mittee  search  the  charges  to  the  bottom,  it  will  require  several  weeks ; 
and  this  cannot  be  done  without  the  personal  examination  of  (289) 
Edwards.  Congress  may  continue  in  session,  or  authorize  the  com 
mittee  to  proceed  in  recess,  and  adjourn  to  some  earlier  period  than 
the  usual  time  of  meeting,  to  receive  the  report  of  the  committee.  If 
Edwards  fails  to  make  good  his  charge,  he  is  destroyed.  Such  are 

1  On  the  19th  day  of  April,  1824,  Ninian  Edwards,  formerly  United  States 
Senator  from  Illinois,  presented  a  memorial  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  con 
taining  serious  charges  against  Mr.  Crawford,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  A 
committee  to  whom  the  memorial  was  referred,  fully  exonerated  Mr.  Crawford; 
in  consequence  of  which  Mr.  Edwards  was  required  by  the  President  to  resign  his 
appointment  as  Minister  to  Mexico,  and  also  to  refund  the  outfit  and  quarter's 
salary  he  had  received. 
37 


284  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


the  feelings  of  Crawford's  party.  If  the  charges,  etc.,  be  made  good, 
another  man  will  be  overthrown.  Thus  you  see  that  these  are  no 
ordinary  measures.  It  may  be  attempted  to  smother  or  suppress  the 
investigation  by  a  partial  report  that  may  exculpate  Edwards  as  a 
false  accuser,  and  in  this  way  acquit  Crawford.  The  practicability  of 
doing  this  must  be  very  doubtful.  I  am  inclined,  without  knowing, 
to  conjecture  that  the  committee  will  be  disposed  to  go  to  the  bottom 
of  the  charges,  let  the  decision  affect  whomsoever  it  may.  I  pray 
you  consider  well  and  answer  with  as  little  delay  as  you  can.  Should 
not  the  proceedings  assume  the  form  of  precise  answers  to  charges, 
instead  of  general  denials  and  references  to  correspondences  and 
documents  which  may  prove  nothing  precise,  and  the  meaning  of 
which  it  may  be  difficult  to  make  out? 


With  great  respect  and  esteem,  I  am,  dear  Sir, 
Your  obedient  servant, 


RUFUS  KING. 


DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  May  9,  1824. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  It  seems  now  to  be  extremely  uncertain  whether 
I  shall  see  you  before  you  go  to  Concord.  The  Houses  will  probably 
not  agree  to  adjourn  until  the  20th  or  25th,  and  I  may  be  detained 
beyond  that  time,  as  the  commission  of  Spanish  claims  closes  the  8th 
of  June. 

There  are  several  things  on  which  to  say  a  few  words,  which  I 
must  write,  since  there  is  so  little  hope  of  a  communication,  ore  tenus. 

First,  as  to  President.  I  have  not  observed  any  great  recent 
change,  in  appearance,  as  to  this  election.  Mr.  Adamsa  appears,  (290) 
a  John  Quincy  Adams  (1767-1848.)  "There  was  something  rasping  and  jar 
ring  in  Adam's  delivery,  and  when  the  old  man  undertook  to  make  himself  heard, 
as  he  sometimes  did,  above  the  din  and  confusion,  he  helped  most  to  create,  his 
voice,  though  apt  to  break,  would  pierce  the  remotest  corner  of  this  ill-construct 
ed  chamber  (House  of  Representatives)  like  the  shrill  notes  of  a  fife.  If  his  man 
ner  in  speaking  was  harsh  and  unsympathetic,  his  matter  when  in  debate  was  still 
more  so.  He  indulged  in  the  bitterest  personalities,  sarcasm,  and  cutting  invec 
tive,  exposed  motives  and  imputed  usually  the  most  unfavorable,  as  his  memoirs 
show,  and  in  his  whole  course  of  action  appeared  very  lightly  bound  to  the  cur- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  285 


however,  to  be  increasing  in  strength.  The  novelty  of  General  Jack 
son  is  wearing  off,  and  the  contest  seems  to  be  coming  back  to  the  old 
question  between  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Crawford.  They,  with  Jack 
son,  will,  I  think,  come  into  the  House;  and  my  belief  at  present  is 
that  Mr.  Adams  will  be  chosen.  But  Mr.  Crawford's  friends  are, 
nevertheless,  as  confident  as  ever.  As  to  the  feelings  of  these  two 
•  gentlemen  and  their  friends  toward  Federalists,  you  know  my  opin 
ion.  It  has  not  essentially  changed,  except  that  circumstances  have 
compelled  them  all  to  treat  us  with  increasing  respect.  The  events 
of  the  winter,  with  the  common  operation  of  time,  have  very  much 
mixed  up  Federalists  with  some  or  other  of  the  parties,  and  though 
it  is  true  that  some  men  make  great  efforts  to  keep  up  old  distinc 
tions,  they  find  it  difficult.  Of  Mr.  Crawford's  friends,  the  South 
are  liberal  and  the  North  are  not.  I  have  reason  to  think  the  caucus 
address  very  disagreeable  to  Mr.  C.  himself,  and  many  of  his  friends. 
It  was  the  work  of  the  North.  Mr.  Adams,  I  think,  sees  also  that 
exclusion  will  be  a  very  doubtful  policy,  and  in  truth  I  think  a  little 
better  of  the  kindness  of  his  feeling  toward  us,  than  I  have  done. 
I  have  always  taken  it  for  granted  that  Mr.  Adams  would  get  New 
Hampshire,  certainly,  as  against  Mr.  Crawford,  if  for  no  other  reason, 
on  account  of  Mr.  C.'s  supporters  there.  At  least  I  have  not  seen  how 

rent  opinion  of  his  time.  He  conciliated  neither  parties  nor  party  idols.  But  in 
his  courageous  independence  and  fixedness  of  purpose  lay  the  secret  of  his  in 
fluence,  which  widened  rapidly  now  that  the  rivalry  of  personal  ambition  was 
eliminated;  for  there  was  a  sort  of  stubborn  integrity  about  him,  a  passionate  pa 
triotism.  His  keen  insight,  too,  and  profound  conception  of  coming  dangers, 
made  his  guidance  more  powerful  with  his  fellow-citizens  than  they  were  aware. 
Athletic  in  his  studies,  he  dived  into  the  depths  of  the  subject  which  interested 
himself  and  the  public  and  brought  up  facts  and  motives.  With  family  tradi 
tions  and  experience  in  public  affairs  reaching  back  to  the  sources  of  our  govern 
ment,  with  systematic  habits  of  which  the  younger  statesmen  might  despair,  who 
was  unwilling  to  give  up  the  pleasures  of  social  intercourse,  Adams  in  his  old 
age  knew  more  of  his  country's  history  than  any  other  living  American.  Read 
ing  and  experience  made  him  full;  journalism  made  him  exact.'' -— 4  Schouler's 
United  States  History,  185. 

When  the  friends  of  Tom  Marshall,  of  Kentucky,  wished  him  to  meet  Adams 
in  debate,  in  1842,  the  Kentuckian  replied:  "Not  I.  I  have  been  gored  by  that 
d — — d  old  bull,  and  have  had  enough  of  him.  If  there  be  any  of  this  kind  of 
work,  it  must  be  undertaken  by  somebody  else.  The  old  devil,  as  you  call  him,  is 
a  match  for  a  score  of  such  fellows  as  you  and  I." 


286  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


Federalists  could  possibly  join  with  those  who  support  Mr.  C.  The 
company  he  keeps  at  the  North  is  my  strongest  objection  to  him. 
I  hope  you  will  get  through  the  session  without  committing  your 
selves.  The  electors,  I  presume,  will  be  chosen  by  the  people ;  and  you 
will  see  perhaps  clearer  in  August  or  September  than  in  June.  Still 
I  fancy  you  will  find  a  very  great  majority  of  the  Legislature  favor 
able  to  Mr.  Adams. 

As  to  Senator.  I  feel  much  more  interest  on  this  subject  than 
the  other.  I  have  constantly  cherished  a  sort  of  hope  that  you  would 
consent  to  come  here  once  more,  and  that  events  might  possibly 
bring  you  in.  How  that  is,  I  cannot  now  see,  at  this  distance;  but 
if  the  good  people  are  willing  you  should  come,  I  hope  most  (291) 
earnestly  you  will.  I  like  Mr.  Parrott's  course  and  conduct  very 
well,  and  should  much  prefer  him  to  any  others  likely  to  be  chosen, 
unless  it  be  yourself.  He  could  undoubtedly  be  provided  for,  under 
the  next  administration,  in  some  agreeable  mode,  as  he  is  generally 
respected.  If,  however,  it  comes  at  last  to  a  question  between  him 
on  one  side,  and  Governor  Woodbury,  or  Governor  Morrill,  etc.,  etc., 
on  the  other,  I  think  there  ought  not  to  be  a  moment's  hesitation. 
I  trust  you  will  not  forget  the  districting  of  the  State.  That  is  a 
great  operation,  as  far  as  it  is  desirable  to  complete  the  destruction 
of  the  caucus  system. 

We  do  not  yet  hear  from  Mr.  Edwards.  Some  think  he  will  not 
come  back  in  season  for  this  session.  I  imagine  we  shall  wait  till 
about  the  24th,  and  if  he  is  not  here  by  that  time  that  Congress 
will  adjourn,  leaving  the  commission  to  take  his  evidence  when  he 
comes.  There  will  be  a  great  call  for  a  Report,  as  far  as  practica 
ble,  before  the  House  adjourns,  which  perhaps  must  be  made. 

Our  bill  for  paying  the  Spanish  awards,  which  I  told  you  was 
with  me  the  great  business  of  the  session,  has  passed  the  House.  It 
was  violently  opposed,  however,  by  Mr.  Clay,  Mr.  Randolph,  and 
others.  Strange  as  you  may  think  it,  Mr.  King  has  a  great  inclina 
tion  to  oppose  it  in  the  Senate.  I  trust,  however,  he  will  finally  not 
do  so.  It  will  pass,  I  hope,  without  great  difficulty.  If  it  should, 
the  awards,  I  presume,  will  be  paid  immediately  after  the  8th  of  June. 

Mrs.  Webster  sends  her  love  to  your  household.  We  are  all 
quite  homesick.  Yours  always, 

D.  WEBSTER. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  287 


It  will  be  observed  that  Mr.  Webster  in  this  letter  speaks  of  Mr. 
Mason's  return  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  as  an  event 
which  might  happen.  There  was  a  strong  desire  on  the  part  of  his 
friends  that  he  should  resume  the  place  he  had  formerly  filled  with  so 
much  honor  to  himself  and  so  much  usefulness  to  the  country;  and 
the  state  of  politics  at  that  time  seemed  to  favor  their  wishes.  By  the 
gradual  melting  away  of  the  federal  party,  the  old  political  (292) 
divisions  had  ceased  to  exist,  and  new  lines  had  not  yet  begun  to 
be  drawn.  Politics  were  in  a  transition  state,  and  votes  were  deter 
mined  mainly  by  personal  preferences  for  the  four  candidates  for 
the  Presidency:  Mr.  Adams,  General  Jackson,  Mr.  Crawford,  and 
Mr.  Clay,  all  of  whom  were  members  of  the  old  republican  party. 
All  of  the  New  England  States,  New  Hampshire  included,  supported 
Mr.  Adams;  and  Mr.  Mason,  who  distinctly  preferred  him  to  any  of 
his  rivals,  once  more  found  himself  on  the  side  of  the  majority. 

Mr.  Mason  in  1824,  was,  for  the  last  time  a  member  of  the  New 
Hampshire  House  of  Representatives  from  Portsmouth;  but  as  he 
was  a  candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate,  he  appears  to  have 
taken  comparatively  little  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Legislature. 
Though  there  were  at  that  time  no  divisions  on  national  politics,  yet 
a  majority  of  the  House  were  members  of  the  republican  party;  and 
in  the  Senate,  which  was  only  twelve  in  number,  all  but  one  had  been 
Republicans. 

There  were  at  that  time  two  sessions  of  the  Legislature  in  New 
Hampshire  —  one  in  June  and  one  in  November.  At  the  June  ses 
sion  there  was  a  strong  and  general  sentiment  in  favor  of  Mr.  Mason, 
but  by  common  consent,  the  election  was  postponed  to  the  November 
session,  when  the  result  of  the  Presidential  contest  would  be  known. 
But  all  were  disappointed  in  this  expectation,  because,  as  is  well 
known,  there  was  no  election  of  President  by  the  people  in  the  autumn 
of  1824.  The  vote  of  New  Hampshire,  as  well  as  of  all  the  other  New 
England  States,  had  been  given  to  Mr.  Adams. 

In  the  interval  between  June  and  November,  the  question  of 
United  States  Senator  had  been  discussed  all  over  the  State  with  more 
interest  than  the  claims  of  the  rival  candidates  for  the  Presidency, 
and  the  public  sentiment  had  been  expressed  so  strongly  in  favor  of 
Mr.  Mason,  that  his  friends  confidently  expected  that  he  would  be 
chosen  without  opposition  at  the  November  session. 


288  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


In  the  mean  time,  Mr.  Eastman,  a  State  Senator,  and  brother-in- 
law  of  Mr.  Levi  Woodbury,  had  been  elected  to  Congress.  (293) 

The  Legislature  met  November  17,  1824,  and  on  the  30th  of  the 
same  month  Mr.  Mason  was  chosen  United  States  Senator  by  a 
vote  of  more  than  two  thirds  of  the  whole  House.  This  was  com 
municated  to  the  Senate,  as  was  then  the  custom,  in  the  form  of  a 
resolution  naming  the  person  chosen. 

On  the  3rd  day  of  December,  after  several  ballotings,  the  Senate 
elected  Mr.  William  Plumer,  jr.,  at  that  time  a  member  of  Congress. 
A  special  message  was  then  sent  to  the  House,  informing  them  that 
the  Senate  concurred  in  passing  the  House  resolution,  with  an  amend 
ment,  striking  out  the  words  ''Jeremiah  Mason,"  and  inserting  "Wil 
liam  Plumer,  jr."  1 

On  the  same  day  the  House  non-concurred,  thus  adhering  to  Mr. 
Mason,  by  a  vote  of  142  nays  to  58,  yeas. 

On  the  7th  of  December,  the  Senate  chose  John  F.  Parrott ;  and 
on  the  next  day  the  House  non-concurred  by  a  vote  of  158  nays  to  42 
yeas. 

On  the  10th  of  December,  the  Senate  elected  Samuel  Dinsmoor; 
and  for  the  third  time  the  House  refused  to  concur,  the  vote  being 
112  nays  to  77  yeas. 

On  the  21st  of  December  a  motion  was  made  in  the  Senate  to 
concur  with  the  House  in  the  choice  of  Mr.  Mason.  It  was  affirmed, 
and  never  denied,  that  seven  members  had  pledged  themselves  to 
vote  in  the  affirmative,  but  upon  a  count  the  ballots  were  six  to  six. 
The  pledges  had  been  so  distinctly  given  that  it  was  at  first  thought 
there  had  been  a  mistake  in  the  count.  A  scene  of  much  excite 
ment  followed  in  the  Senate.  A  motion  was  made  to  raise  a  com 
mittee  to  inquire  and  report  whether  any  error  had  been  made  in 
counting  the  votes,  but  after  some  discussion  it  was  rejected.  Public 
opinion  charged  Mr.  Eastman  with  having  voted  contrary  to  his  pledge, 
and  the  charge  was  never  satisfactorily  met.  He  served  in  (294) 

1  William  H.  Y.  Hackett,  Esq.,  of  Portsmouth,  at  that  time  assistant  clerk  of 
the  Senate,  was  the  bearer  of  the  message  to  the  House  on  this  occasion.  It  was 
delivered  by  addressing  the  speaker,  and  announcing  the  amendment.  As  Mr. 
Hackett  turned  to  go  back  to  the  Senate  chamber,  he  passed  Mr.  Mason,  who  was 
standing  before  the  fire  in  a  corner  of  the  Representatives  Hall,  and  with  a  smile 
said  to  him,  "Good-morning,  Mr.  Hackett,  I  see  you  propose  a  trifling  amend 
ment." 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  289 


Congress  but  a  single  term,  and  failed  of  a  re-election  mainly,  as  was 
supposed,  on  account  of  the  cloud  cast  upon  him  by  his  course  on  this 
occasion. 

The  result  was  that  the  session  closed  without  any  election  of 
United  States  Senator,  and  at  the  June  session  of  1825,  Levi  Wood- 
bury  was  chosen  by  both  branches  of  the  Legislature,  he  being  at 
that  time  a  supporter  of  Mr.  Adams,  though,  as  is  well  known,  he  soon 
became  a  zealous  and  trusted  adherent  of  General  Jackson. 

This  account  of  Mr.  Mason's  defeat  may  seem  more  full  and  par 
ticular  than  its  importance  demands ;  but  it  is  curious  as  showing  by 
what  slight  obstacles  the  course  of  events  is  often  turned  aside,  and 
what  grave  results  are  produced  by  trivial  and  accidental  causes.  Mr. 
Mason  would  undoubtedly  have  gone  to  the  Senate  had  not  Mr.  East 
man,  one  of  his  electors,  been  a  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Woodbury,  and 
had  he  not  believed  that  his  kinsman  would  have  the  best  chance  for 
the  place  if  Mr.  Mason  were  finally  successful. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Mason's  personal 
and  political  friends  to  return  him  to  the  Senate  were  not  successful. 
He  would  at  once  have  taken  the  place  of  a  leader  in  that  body,  and  be 
ing  a  supporter  of  the  administration,  he  would  have  had  a  much 
more  important  share  in  the  government  and  legislation  of  the  coun 
try  than  in  the  days  of  Mr.  Madison,  when,  being  one  of  a  hopeless 
minority,  he  could  do  little  more  than  modify  and  criticise  the  work 
that  was  prepared  by  others.  Mr.  Adams  would  have  found  in  his 
judgment  and  firmness  a  tower  of  strength  to  his  administration.  He 
would  have  always  given  faithful  and  disinterested  counsel,  and  his 
calm  and  passionless  wisdom  was  exactly  what  a  man  of  Mr.  Adams' 
peculiar  temperament  wanted.  And  to  Mr.  Mason  personally  a  resi 
dence  in  Washington  would  have  been  more  agreeable  than  it  had  been 
ten  years  before.  In  the  interval  Washington  had  made  some  prog 
ress  in  social  and  material  civilization.  The  manner  of  living  was 
more  comfortable,  and  a  more  congenial  society  would  have  made  him 
feel  less  keenly  his  absence  from  home.  (295)  His  high  professional 
reputation  could  hardly  have  failed  to  bring  him  a  fair  amount  of  bus 
iness  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  And,  lastly,  the 
means  of  conveyance  had  improved,  and  his  journeys  to  and  from 
Washington  would  have  been  less  disagreeable  and  fatiguing. 

Mr.  Mason  bore  his  defeat  with  more  equanimity  than  did  his 


290  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


friends.  He  was  indeed  in  that  happy  state  of  indifference  which  did 
not  require  him  to  affect  what  he  did  not  feel,  or  conceal  what  he  did 
feel.  As  a  matter  of  duty,  he  was  ready  to  accept  the  trust  if  it  were 
offered  to  him ;  otherwise,  he  was  well  content  to  remain  at  home  with 
his  family  and  his  clients.  In  his  heart  of  heart  he  was  probably 
more  than  content  with  a  result  which  prevented  him  from  embark 
ing  a  second  time  on  the  stormy  sea  of  politics. 

And  it  may  be  proper  here  to  state  that  the  surviving  members 
of  Mr.  Mason's  family  now  look  back  with  satisfaction  upon  a  result 
which  saved  him  from  being  again  exposed  to  the  turmoils  and  ex 
citements  of  political  life.  They  feel  that  while  a  further  term  of 
six  years  in  the  Senate  would  have  been  a  gain  to  him  so  far  as  fame 
was  concerned,  it  would  have  been  a  loss  on  the  score  of  happiness.  A 
more  widely  extended  national  reputation  would  have  been  but  a  poor 
compensation  for  the  annoyances  and  discomforts  to  which  he  must 
have  been  exposed.  His  stern  integrity,  his  high  sense  of  public  duty, 
his  disdain  of  the  tricks  and  devices  by  which  party  success  is  secured, 
and  his  blunt  sincerity  of  speech,  if  they  did  not  disqualify  him  for 
public  service,  made  the  calm  and  unambitious  walks  of  professional 
life  far  more  to  his  taste.  (296.) 


MRS.  JEREMIAH    (MEANS)  \ 
Taken  soon  after  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Mason,  in  "1799,-at 


twenty  Tone. 


MEMOIR  OF-  JEREMIAH  MASON.  291 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Mr.  Mason's  Life  and  Jorrespondence  from  the  close  of  1824  till  his  removal  to 
Boston  in  1832.  —  Death  of  his  Son  Alfred.  —  Chosen  President  of  the  Branch 
Bank  of  the  United  States  at  Portsmouth.  —  His  Policy  in  managing  its  Busi 
ness.  —  Opposition  awakened  by  his  Course.  —  Successful  Defense  against  the 
Charges  brought  against  him. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

Febi~nary  14,  1825. 

DEAR  SIR, — You  will  have  heard  that  Mr.  Crawford  declines 
the  Treasury.  I  have  understood  his  reason  to  be,  that  he  pre 
ferred  to  leave  his  friends  in  a  situation  to  support  or  oppose  the  gov 
ernment  as  they  might  hereafter  think  their  duty  required,  without 
embarrassing  them  by  his  own  connection  with  the  administration. 
The  Department  of  State  is  offered  to  Mr.  Clay.  He  has  it  under  ad 
visement.  It  is  thought  to  be  doubtful  whether  he  will  accept  it ;  but 
my  own  opinion  rather  is  that  he  will.  Nothing  further  is  known,  and 
I  have  no  secrets.  Mr.  Cheves'  name  is  mentioned,  in  conversation, 
for  the  Treasury.  De  Witt  Clinton,  Mr.  McLean,  Postmaster-general, 
and  one  or  two  others,  have  been  suggested  as  candidates  for  the  War 
Department.  But  these  are,  I  presume,  all  rumors,  and  nothing  more 
is  known  or  decided  at  present.  Mr.  Wirt  and  Mr.  Southard,  it  is  un 
derstood,  will  remain  in  their  places.  I  took  care  to  state  my  own 
views  and  feelings  to  Mr.  Adams,  before  the  election,  in  such  a  man 
ner  as  will  enable  me  to  satisfy  my  friends,  I  trust,  that  I  did  my  duty. 
I  was  very  distinct,  and  as  distinctly  answered ;  and  have  the  means  of 
showing  precisely  what  was  said.  My  own  hopes,  at  present,  are 
strong  that  Mr.  Adams  will  pursue  an  honorable,  liberal,  magnani 
mous  policy.  (297)  If  he  does  not,  I  shall  be  disappointed,  as  well  as 

38 
—20 


292  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


others,  and  he  will  be  ruined.  Opposition  is  likely  to  arise  in  an  unex 
pected  quarter,  and  unless  the  administration  has  friends,  its  enemies 
will  overwhelm  it.  It  is  not  necessary,  in  writing  to  you,  to  deny  the 
rumor,  or  rumors,  which  the  press  has  circulated,  of  a  place  provided 
for  me.  There  is  not  a  particle  of  probability  of  any  such  offer.  My 
own  sentiments  about  those  things  are  very  much  as  they  were  when 
I  saw  you.  The  Court  is  going  on  slowly.  Judge  Story  has  very  much 
recovered  his  health,  and  is  in  good  spirits.  The  Chief  Justice  is  un 
commonly  well.  I  hear  little  from  your  State.  If  you  have  half  an 
hour  from  courts  and  juries  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  from  you. 

Yours  as  always, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

BOSTON,  April  19,  1825. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  thank  you  for  your  kind  letter.  You  do  not  and, 
cannot  overrate  the  strength  of  the  shock  which  my  brother's21  death 
has  caused  me.  I  have  felt  but  one  such  in  life ;  and  this  follows  that 
so  soon,  that  it  requires  more  fortitude  than  I  possess  to  bear  it  with 
firmness,  such  parhaps  as  I  ought.  I  am  aware  that  the  case  admits 
of  no  remedy,  nor  any  present  relief;  and  endeavor  to  console  myself 
with  reflecting,  that  I  have  had  much  happiness  in  lost  connections; 
and  that  they  must  expect  to  lose  beloved  objects  in  this  world  who 
have  beloved  objects  to  lose.  My  life,  I  know,  has  been  fortunate  and 

a  Ezekiel  Webster,  (1780-1829,)  the  elder  brother  of  Daniel,  died  at  the  age 
of  49.  He  was  a  man  of  high  talent,  much  professional  learning,  and  great 
solidity  of  character.  Daniel  relied  upon  his  judgment.  Before  the  younger 
brother  left  New  Hampshire,  for  the  larger  field  in  Boston,  in  1816,  Ezekiel  was 
unwilling  to  put  himself  forward  in  the  law;  but  after  such  comparison  was  no 
longer  likely  to  be  suggested,  he  became  eminent  as  an  advocate.  He  and  Daniel, 
in  whom  the  powers  of  genius  were  united  with  its  dangers,  had  struggled  to  get 
an  education,  the  father  mortgaging  his  farm  to  educate  Daniel,  and  the  latter 
had  interceded  with  his  father,  mother  and  two  sisters  to  have  Ezekiel  go  to 
college,  which  was  finally  decided  upon  by  the  family,  the  mother  saying,  she 
"could  trust  the  boys/'  By  hard  struggling,  teaching,  etc.,  Ezekiel  was  finally 
graduated  at  Dartmouth,  in  1804,  three  years  after  the  graduation  of  the  young 
er  brother,  in  1801. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  293 


happy  beyond  the  common  lot ;  and  it  would  be  now  ungrateful  as  well 
as  unavailing  to  repine  at  calamities  of  which,  as  I  am  human,  I  must 
partake.  But  I  confess  the  world  at  present  has  for  me  an  aspect  any 
thing  but  cheerful.  With  a  multitude  of  acquaintances,  I  have  few 
friends.  My  nearest  intimacies  are  broken,  and  a  sad  void  is  made  in 
the  objects  of  affection.  Of  what  remains  dear  and  valuable,  I  need 
not  say  that  a  most  precious  part  is  the  affectionate  friendship  of 
yourself  and  family.  I  want  to  (298)  see  you  very  much  indeed,  but 
know  not  whether  I  shall  be  able  soon  to  visit  Portsmouth.  You  will 
be  glad  to  know  that  my  own  health  is  good.  I  have  never,  for  ten 
years,  got  through  a  winter,  without  being  more  reduced  in  health  and 
strength.  My  children  also  are  well.  Edward  is  at  Boscawen,  where 
he  will  probably  stay  this  summer,  or  as  long  as  the  family  may  be 
kept  together  there.  Daniel  hopes  to  go  to  college  in  August.  Julia 
proposes  to  pass  the  summer,  or  part  of  it,  with  Mrs.  Lee,  and  must 
afterwards  be  disposed  of  as  best  she  may.  This  occurrence  is  cal 
culated  to  have  an  effect  on  .the  future  course  of  my  own  life,  and  to 
add  to  the  inducements  already  felt,  to  retire  from  a  situation  in 
which  I  am  making  daily  sacrifices,  and  doing  little  good  to  myself  or 
others.  Pray  give  my  love  to  the  family. 

Yours  affectionately  and  entirely,  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

PORTSMOUTH,  April  29,  1825. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  was  for  many  reasons  rejoiced  to  hear  of  your 
appointment  as  minister  to  England.  Again  seeing  your  old  friends 
and  acquaintances  there  must,  I  presume,  be  gratifying  to  you  person 
ally,  and,  I  am  sure,  it  will  prove  advantageous  to  the  public. 

This  appointment  also  indicates  that  Mr.  Adams  does  not  intend 
to  pursue  the  miserable  course  of  his  three  predecessors. 

In  a  letter  just  received  from  Mr.  Gore,  he  says  you  are  to  embark 
soon,  but  that  you  have  an  intention  of  visiting  him  first,  and  that  he 
will  notify  me  when  you  will  be  at  Waltham.  I  should  be  highly  grati 
fied  by  seeing  you  here,  but  if  that  cannot  be,  I  will  certainly  avail 
myself  of  the  opportunity  of  seeing  you  at  Waltham. 

The  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  sits  here  9th  May  one  or 


294  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


two  days,  which  I  must  attend.     At  any  other  time  during  the  en 
suing  month  I  can  go  to  Waltham. 

I  am  with  great  esteem,  your  obliged  friend  and  obedient  serv 
ant,  J.  MASON. 

(299) 
RUFUS  KING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JAMAICA,  L.  I.,  May  3,  1825. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Last  evening  I  received  your  letter  of  the  29th 
past.  The  mission  to  Great  Britain  was  wholly  unexpected  by  me,  and 
not  desired  on  my  part ;  the  offer  of  the  President  was  accompanied  by 
expressions  of  some  solicitude  for  the  satisfactory  adjustment  of  all 
depending  questions  with  England,  and  the  determination  to  make 
sincere  efforts  to  effect  the  reunion  of  political  parties. 

In  these  subjects  I  felt  a  deep  interest,  and  it  was  suggested  that 
they  would  be  promoted  by  my  appointment  to  the  mission  to  Great 
Britain.  Being  undecided,  I  asked  time  for  consideration,  to  confer 
with  my  family  and  to  consult  a  few  friends. 

This  was  not  deemed  unreasonable,  and  the  result  has  been,  that 
I  have  accepted  the  mission,  on  which  I  may  proceed  in  the  month  of 
June,  accompanied  by  my  eldest  son,  his  wife,  and  a  portion  of  their 
children.  This  arrangement  will  afford  me  the  comfort  and  kindness 
of  home,  instead  of  being  entirely  dependent  upon  strangers.  It  would 
give  me  much  satisfaction  to  meet  you  and  other  friends  before  my 
departure,  but  this  will  not  happen,  as  I  shall  not  be  able  to  make  my 
visit  to  our  friend  Mr.  Gore,  having,  though  a  man  of  few  affairs,  so 
many  concerns  to  attend  to  that  I  shall  not  have  the  necessary  time. 

With  great  respect  and  esteem,  I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  your  obedient 
and  faithful  servant  and  sincere  friend,  RUFUS  KING. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  March  27,  1826. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, —  During  the  session  of  the  court,  I  had  not  leisure 
to  attend  to  general  correspondence.  You  must  receive  this  as  an  ex 
cuse  for  leaving  your  letters  so  long  unanswered.  It  happened,  luck 
ily  enough,  that  the  House  of  Representatives  were  occupied  on  no 
very  interesting  subjects,  during  my  engagements  (300)  elsewhere. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  295 


You  see  Panama  in  so  many  shapes  that  you  probably  expect  to  re 
ceive  no  news  in  regard  to  it.  The  importance  of  the  matter  raises 
mainly  from  the  dead  set  made  against  it  in  the  Senate.  I  am  afraid 
my  friend  Calhoun  organized  and  arranged  the  opposition.  He  ex 
pected  to  defeat  the  measure.  That  would  have  placed  the  President 
in  his  power,  more  or  less,  and  if  the  thing  could  be  repeated  on  one 
or  two  other  occasions,  completely  so.  Mr.  Adams,  then,  would  have 
been  obliged  to  make  terms,  or  he  could  not  get  on  with  the  govern 
ment,  and  those  terms  would  have  been  the  dismissal  of  Mr.  Clay.  As 
far  as  to  this  point,  all  parties  and  parts  of  the  opposition  adhere  and 
cohere.  Beyond  this,  probably,  they  could  not  move  together  harmo 
niously.  Vast  pains  were  taken,  especially  with  new  members,  to  bring 
them  to  a  right  way  of  thinking.  Your  neighbor  was  soon  gained. 
At  the  present  moment,  some  who  acted  a  violent  part  in  the  Senate 
wish  to  have  it  understood  that  they  are  not,  therefore,  to  be  counted 
as  members  of  a  regular  opposition.  I  have  been  informed  that  Mr. 
Woodbury  and  Mr.  Holmes  disclaim  opposition.  Others  again  say 
they  had  not  full  information,  and  complain  of  that.  Others  make 
quotations  of  sentences,  words,  or  syllables,  from  the  documents,  and 
carp  at  them.  But  you  see  all.  In  the  House  of  Representatives  it  is 
likely  the  necessary  money  will  be  voted  by  thirty  or  forty  majority. 
We  may  have  a  week's  debate.  Our  Massachusetts  claim  came  up  on 
Saturday.  One  of  the  Jackson  men  attacked  it  with  great  bitterness. 
Generally  speaking,  they  are  exasperated  with  all  men,  and  every 
thing,  that  ever  did,  or  is  ever  likely  to  oppose  General  Jackson.  The 
Bankrupt  Bill  will  be  taken  up,  shortly  I  hope,  in  the  Senate.  If  it 
shall  come  down  to  us,  I  shall  press  it  hard.  If  the  Senate  reject  it,  I 
shall  not  think  it  worth  while  to  introduce  the  discussion  into  our 
House.  I  observe  the  state  of  your  recent  elections.  As  between 
Governor  Morrill  and  General  Pierce,  I  suppose  you  found  it  difficult 
to  make  a  choice.  It  appears  to  me  your  leading  men  are  likely  to 
classify  themselves  as  opponents  of  Mr.  Adams.  It  is,  or  is  it  not,  de 
sirable  to  bring  things  as  fast  as  possible  to  that  (301)  issue?  The 
Congress  election  takes  place  next  fall.  Would  it  not  be  well  to  set  up 
a  good  strong  ticket,  and  vote  for  it?  Of  the  gentlemen  now  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  I  do  not  reckon  more  than  one  or  two,  -or 
three  at  most,  who  are  really  and  truly  in  favor  of  the  present  admin 
istration.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  they  may  keep  themselves  from 


296  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


any  overt  and  palpable  acts  of  opposition.  If  it  would  do  any  good,  I 
suppose  means  might  be  found  to  have  letters  addressed  to  Governor 
Morrill  on  this  matter.  Mr.  Bell  seems  uncommonly  zealous,  and  de 
termined  in  favor  of  the  President,  and  acts  a  liberal  and  manly  part 
in  recent  and  present  occurrences.  The  real  truth  is,  that  Mr.  Adams 
will  be  opposed  by  all  the  Atlantic  States  south  of  Maryland ;  so  would 
any  other  Northern  man.  They  will  never  acquiesce  in  the  adminis 
tration  of  any  President  on  our  side  the  Potomac.  This  may  be  re 
lied  on,  and  we  ought  to  be  aware  of  it.  The  perpetual  alarm  which 
is  kept  up  on  the  subject  of  negro  slavery,  has  its  objects.  It  is  to  keep 
the  South  all  united  and  all  jealous  of  the  North.  The  Northwestern 
States  and  Kentucky  are  at  present  very  well  disposed.  So  is  Louisi 
ana.  Tennessee  and  Alabama  will  agree  to  anything  or  oppose  any 
thing,  as  General  Jackson's  interests  may  require.  The  Crawford  men 
in  Georgia,  will  doubtless  go  in  the  same  direction.  In  North  Carolina, 
there  are  some  who  prefer  Mr.  Adams  to  General  Jackson,  and  in  Vir 
ginia  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  General  can  be  effectually  sup 
ported.  Virginia  says  little  about  the  men  whom  she  would  trust,  and 
opposes  those  actually  in  power.  In  our  House,  however,  the  Virginia 
phalanx  of  opposition  is  not  formidable.  More  than  a  third  in  number 
may  be  reckoned  favorable.  There  is  some  reason  to  think  the  Jack 
son  fever  begins  to  abate  in  Pennsylvania,  and  doubtless  it  is  over  in 
New  Jersey.  Under  these  circumstances,  if  New  York  and  New  Eng 
land  go  steady,  it  is  not  likely  that  the  South  will  immediately  regain 
the  ascendency. 

The  news  from  England  does  not  represent  Mr.  King's  health  as 
entirely  restored.  He  is  able,  however,  to  attend  to  business. 

Yours  very  truly,  D.  WEBSTER. 

(302) 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 
(Private.) 

WASHINGTON,  May  2,  1826. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Letters  came  yesterday  from  Mr.  King  desiring 
his  recall,  and  proposing  that  he  may  be  permitted  to  return,  as  soon 
as  possible,  to  the  United  States !  This  is  unlucky.  It  is  a  very  un 
seasonable  termination  of  that  mission,  and  perhaps  will  settle  some 
things  not  exactly  as  might  be  wished.  The  truth  is,  that  Mr.  King's 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  297 


health  has  been  such,  that  he  has  been  able  to  do  nothing  since  he  ar 
rived  in  England.  In  the  mean  time,  two  or  three  things  intrusted  to 
him  are  of  pressing  and  urgent  importance,  so  much  so,  that  I  think  it 
probable  the  President  had  determined  to  send  out  somebody  to  aid 
Mr.  King  in  the  negotiation,  and  then,  perhaps,  to  proceed  to  France 
to  act  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Brown,  in  renewed  effort  to  obtain  in 
demnity  from  the  French  government  for  spoliation,  etc.  I  imagine 
it  would  have  been  thought  advisable,  under  all  circumstances,  to  have 
intrusted  this  special  service  to  Mr.  Gallatin.  Mr.  King's  resignation 
has  changed  the  state  of  things.  I  have  not  seen  the  President,  since 
the  news  came,  but  I  have  seen  Mr.  Clay,  who  gave  me  the  informa 
tion.  I  incline  to  think  the  course  will  now  be,  to  send  Mr..  Gallatin 
immediately  to  England  to  take  Mr.  King's  place.  Mr.  Gallatin,  I 
was  told,  was  willing  to  go  on  a  special,  but  not  on  a  permanent  mis 
sion.  He  does  not  wish,  it  is  said,  to  be  obliged  to  take  a  house  or  any 
establishment  abroad,  being  rather  desirous  of  husbanding  his  outfit, 
etc.  What  may  come  of  this,  I  cannot  tell ;  but  see  no  way  but  to  leave 
things  to  take  their  course.  My  impression,  at  present,  is,  that  it 
would  be  unseasonable  at  present  to  make  any  movement  to  give  an 
other  direction  to  the  affair.  The  Judiciary  Bill  is  yet  between  the 
two  Houses.  It  may  possibly  be  lost,  but  I  think  it  will  not  be.  If  the 
Senate  do  not  yield  their  amendment,  probably  we  shall  agree  to  it.  A 
pretty  satisfactory  arrangement  will  be  made  as  to  the  judges.  The 
present  Postmaster-general  will  be  named,  (303)  in  case  Ohio  be 
separated  from  Kentucky;  otherwise,  I  conjecture  the  judge  in  that 
quarter  will  be  N.  F.  Pope,  at  present  district  judge  of  Illinois.  In 
Louisiana,  I  presume,  a  Judge  Porter  will  be  appointed ;  in  Tennessee, 
either  a  Mr.  Emerson  or  a  Mr.  Crabbe ;  I  hope  the  former.  In  looking 
out  for  men  for  these  places,  a  very  honest  and  anxious  desire  is  felt, 
I  believe,  to  find  men  who  concur  in  the  leading  decisions  of  the  Su 
preme  Court.  If  any  error  be  committed  on  that  point,  it  will  be 
through  misinformation.  I  intend  to  be  home  by  the  22d  or  23d  of 
May.  There  remain  no  public  subjects  of  great  interest,  except  the 
Bankruptcy,  which  has  breezed  up,  somewhat  too  late,  in  the  Senate. 
Be  kind  enough  to  give  our  love  to  Mrs.  Mason  and  the  children. 
As  the  Judge  will  be  with  you  about  this  time,  you  may  show  him 
this.  Yours  always  truly, 

DANIEL  WEBSTER. 


298  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

BOSTON,  May  31,  1826. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — •  We  all  arrived  safe  home,  at  the  end  of  last  week. 
The  fatigue  of  the  journey,  the  heat  of  the  weather,  and  other  causes, 
occasioned  me  an  illness  of  two  or  three  days,  which  I  am  getting  over. 
All  the  rest  of  the  family  are  quite  well,  and  would  be  very  happy,  but 
for  the  loss  of  our  neighbor  Mrs.  Blake.  You  will  readily  imagine  that 
this  affects  us  much.  Mr.  Blake  is  recovering  his  tone  of  mind  much 
faster  than  I  expected.  His  health  is  uncommonly  good,  and  I  hope  we 
shall  find  ways  to  soothe  his  sorrow  for  his  immediate  loss.  I  have 
not  been  out  yet,  and  know  nothing  of  what  is  doing  or  intended  here. 
Your  last  letter  I  received  recently  before  leaving  Washington.  I  have 
not  been  inattentive  to  New  Hampshire  affairs.  I  have  had  many  and 
full  conversations  with  Mr.  Bell,  and  he  has  gone  home  with  the  best 
intentions.  He  will  be  at  Concord  the  second  week  of  the  session ;  and 
I  have  no  doubt  he  will  take  a  straightforward  course.  He  is  fully 
satisfied  (304)  of  the  folly  of  our  divisions  at  home ;  he  is  ready  to  de 
nounce  that  folly,  and  to  conjure  his  friends  to  abandon  it.  He  means 
to  rally  the  republican  friends  of  the  administration;  and,  if  neces 
sary,  he  will  break  with  Hill.  These,  I  believe,  are  his  views  and 
purposes.  What  he  can  do,  or  how  far  he  will  succeed,  is  more  than  I 
know.  There  is  one  great  danger,  and  that  is,  that  Hill  will  affect  to 
conform,  promise  to  come  off  from  opposition  gradually,  and  finally 
to  come  into  the  support  of  the  administration,  and  by  this  course  pre 
vent  an  open  rupture.  Now  all  this,  in  my  judgment,  would  be  but 
giving  Hill  new  credit,  by  which  he  would  work  more  mischief  in  the 
end.  He  cannot  be  trusted  in  any  promise  or  engagement  which  should 
bind  him  to  a  course  of  honest  and  liberal  politics  and  manly  feeling. 
For  running  an  opposite  race,  he  may  be  trusted  without  any  promise 
at  all.  Even  if  the  road  led  away  manifestly  from  his  own  interest., 
he  would  follow  it.  Whether  it  be  possible  to  strengthen  Mr.  Bell  on 
this  point,  I  know  not.  Possibly  something  may  occur  to  you,  and 
therefore  I  have  made  the  suggestion.  I  understand  that  Mr.  Bart- 
lett,  a  few  days  before  the  adjournment,  made  a  decided  profession  of 
friendship  for  the  government,  and  of  his  intention  to  support  it  here 
after,  bona  fide.  This  I  learn  in  confidence.  Dr.  Whipple  is  well  dis 
posed.  Healy,  who  went  there  an  oppositionist,  seems  really  to  have 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  299 


been  converted ;  and  Brown  and  Eastman  probably  are  not  ready  to 
run  against  the  current  of  things  at  home.  I  doubt,  therefore,  wheth 
er  much  opposition  could  be  raised  to  the  re-election  of  your  present 
members,  on  the  ground  of  their  being  in  opposition.  None  of  them 
would  acknowledge  the  fact,  unless,  possibly,  Mr.  Harvey  might.  I 
think  the  present  moment  not  unfavorable  to  our  operation ;  and  un 
less  it  be  evaded,  by  the  means  I  have  mentioned,  I  should  expect  good 
from  it. 

I  shall  come  down  to  see  you  one  of  these  days,  though  I  yet  can 
not  say  exactly  when.  I  have  nothing  before  me  for  the  summer  like 
ly  to  occupy  me  much. 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  very  truly  yours,  D.  WEBSTER. 

(305) 
39 

JOSEPH  STORY  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

SALEM,  August  26,  1826. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  been  delayed  in  writing  you  by  the  hope 
that  Chief  Justice  Marshall  might  send  me  a  favorable  answer.  I 
received  a  letter  three  or  four  weeks  ago  from  him,  in  which  he  ex 
pressed  a  strong  opinion  that  he  should  be  unable  to  attend  Commence 
ment.  But  as  his  son  had  since  that  time  resumed  his  connections 
with  the  college,  I  had  indulged  the  belief  that  he  might  yet  change  his 
mind.  There  is  no  longer  any  hope  that  he  will  gratify  us  by  his  pres 
ence.  I  have  written  my  discourse  not  without  much  trouble  and 
anxiety  of  spirit;  and  conscious  after  the  late  splendid  exhibitions  at 
Boston  and  elsewhere,  I  shall  have  but  little  chance  of  satisfying  an 
audience  already  wrought  up  to  the  highest  point  by  these  admirable 
funeral  discourses,  especially  by  Mr.  Webster's.  My  own  discourse  is 
principally  of  a  merely  literary  cast,  and  perhaps  somewhat  heretical 
and  somewhat  admonitory.  What  will  be  its  effect  I  cannot  pretend  to 
foresee;  and  I  wish  with  all  my  heart  the  thing  was  fairly  off  my 
hands.  In  the  conclusion  I  have  taken  a  brief  though  not  a  cold  notice 
of  our  friend  Haven.  I  dare  not  say  that  you  will  be  repaid  by  visit 
ing  us  on  such  an  occasion,  and  yet  I  will  not  disguise  how  greatly 
your  presence  would  cheer  me  and  comfort  me.  Mrs.  Story  has  just 


300  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


recovered  from  an  attack  of  the  scarlet  fever  and  throat  distemper; 
she  is  able  to  go  out  but  is  somewhat  debilitated.  She  intends  visit 
ing  Cambridge  at  Commencement,  and  my  own  engagements  will  nec 
essarily  carry  me  thither  on  Tuesday  afternoon. 

In  great  haste,  I  remain,  with  the  truest  respect,  yours  affec 
tionately,  JOSEPH  STORY. 

P.  S.  —  If  you  should  come,  the  P.  B.  K.  Society  will  expect  the 
favor  of  your  company  to  dinner.  We  somewhat  expect  the  President 
and  government.  (306) 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  August  27,  1826. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  was  about  to  write  to  you  when  I  received  your 
letter  of  yesterday.  I  had  determined  to  attend  Commencement  at 
Cambridge,  for  the  sake  of  hearing  your  oration,  and  I  feel  disappoint 
ed  and  mortified  that  I  cannot.  I  have  just  returned  from  a  three 
weeks'  attendance  on  our  courts,  and  am  a  good  deal  indisposed.  My 
complaint  is  of  a  nature  that  threatens  me  with  the  visitation  of  a 
confirmed  dysentery,  which  at  this  season  and  with  this  weather  must 
be  guarded  against.  I  fear  a  journey,  with  the  excitement  attending 
the  occasion,  might  prove  seriously  injurious.  I  feel  the  more  morti 
fied  by  this  disappointment,  as  you  are  so  kind,  as  to  say  my  presence 
would  be  gratifying  to  you.  I  assure  you,  my  dear  sir,  no  ordinary 
obstacle  should  deprive  me  of  the  pleasure  I  anticipated  from  hearing 
your  discourse.  Your  anxiety  to  find  yourself  well  through  your  un 
dertaking,  is  natural,  and  to  a  man  of  easy  excitability,  unavoidable. 
I  have,  however,  no  fear  of  the  result.  I  feel  quite  sure  that  you  will 
fully  satisfy  the  expectations  and  wishes  of  your  friends. 

Of  Mr.  Webster's  oration,  I  think  highly.  It  will  in  my  opinion, 
not  only  sustain  his  former  reputation,  but  increase  it.  Some  parts 
are  truly  eloquent,  and  he  has  managed  the  whole  with  admirable 
address. 

We  had  not  heard  of  Mrs.  Story's  sickness,  and  are  glad  with 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  301 


the  first  notice  of  it  to  know  she  is  so  nearly  recovered.     Please  to 
present  my  and  Mrs.  Mason's  best  regards  to  her. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  as  ever,  most  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 
(307) 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

PORTSMOUTH,  September  3,   1826. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  truly  sorry  that  I  was  unable  to  comply 
with  your  advice  to  be  at  Cambridge  to  hear  Judge  Story's  oration. 
For  a  fortnight  past,  I  have  been  much  indisposed,  occasioned  by  our 
most  extraordinary  weather,  and  was  fearful  it  would  end  in  down 
right  sickness.  That  I  trust  is  warded  off.  I  infer  from  the  news 
paper  reports  that  the  Judge  acquitted  himself  very  ably,  and  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  his  auditors. 

Of  your  oration,  there  seems  to  be  but  one  opinion.  Without  say 
ing  anything  of  its  merits,  in  point  of  eloquence,  I  really  think  you 
have  managed  the  subject  with  most  admirable  address,  of  which  no 
small  share  was  necessary,  considering  your  own  situation.  I  do  not 
see  that  you  have  exposed  yourself  to  serious  abuse  from  any  quar 
ter. 

I  fear  the  tendency  of  political  affairs  in  this  State  is  not  such  as 
we  wish.  Your  brother,  whom  I  lately  saw  at  Concord  court,  proph 
esies  nothing  but  evil.  He  has  been  on  a  tour  through  the  north  part 
of  the  State,  and  says  a  majority  of  the  old  democratic  party,  if  called 
to  act  at  this  time,  would  be  found  to  be  hostile  to  the  present  adminis 
tration.  I  doubt  the  correctness  of  his  opinion,  but  seriously  fear 
that  things  tend  that  way. 

The  attempt  to  exclude  Harvey  from  a  nomination  in  the  Legis 
lative  caucus,  failed  entirely.  Governor  Bell,  as  far  as  I  know,  has 
neither  said  nor  done  anything  since  his  short  visit  to  the  Legislature 
in  June.  I  do  not  think  he  has  ever  avowed  any  inclination  for  a  con 
cert  or  union  of  any  kind  with  Federalists.  The  project  for  an  admin 
istration  paper,  to  be  edited  by  Moore,  will  probably  fail.  It  is  doubt 
ful  whether  it  would  do  any  good  under  the  influence  that  would  con 
trol  it.  Should  it  go  on,  its  avowed  object  would  be  to  maintain  the 


302  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


old  party  distinctions.  Indeed,  I  know  of  no  prominent  republican 
friends  of  the  present  administration  in  the  State  who  seem  willing  to 
do  away  with  the  old  party  distinctions.  (308)  They  all  want  to  keep 
up  that  distinction  solely  for  the  sake  of  securing  the  little  paltry  of 
fices  to  themselves.  It  will  be  impossible  to  induce  the  Federalists 
to  act  with  them  on  those  terms.  The  democracy  of  Boston  seems  to 
be  better  disposed.  Is  it  possible  to  devise  any  plan  by  which  it  can 
be  brought  to  act  with  effect  on  this  dark  and  benighted  corner  of  the 
earth  ?  If  you  can,  do  something  for  us. 

Faithfully  yours,  J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  9,  1828. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  On  coming  home  to-day  from  Salem  I  received 
your  letter  of  26th  December,  which  had  been  lying  by  several  days. 
I  had  been  desirous  of  writing  to  you  from  the  time  I  first  heard  of 
your  and  Mrs.  Webster's  sickness  at  New  York.  But  I  was  very  soon 
told  it  was  your  intention  to  go  to  Washington  and  to  return  to  New 
York,  which  made  it  uncertain  where  a  letter  would  reach  you  at  any 
particular  time.  We  have  been  greatly  distressed  by  the  various  ac 
counts  of  your  and  Mrs.  Webster's  situation,  which  have  not  been  so 
alarming  as  that  in  your  letter.  I  was  at  Boston  last  Sunday,  and  saw 
Mr.  Paige  immediately  on  his  return  from  New  York.  His  account  of 
Mrs.  Webster's  health  was  greatly  more  favorable,  as  you  know.  He 
had  not  then  seen  Dr.  Warren,  but  said  that  the  New  York  surgeons 
thought  much  better  of  the  case  than  they  had,  believing  (as  I  under 
stand  him)  that  present  appearances  were  greatly  more  favorable. 
As  to  your  health,  he  said  he  had  never  before  seen  you  so  much  re 
duced  and  so  feeble,  but  that  he  supposed  the  cause  of  your  sickness 
to  be  in  a  good  degree,  at  least,  removed,  and  that  there  was  good 
ground  to  hope  that  rest  and  quiet  would  speedily  restore  you.  I  am 
aware  that  your  sufferings  have  been  excessive,  and,  with  all  the  alle 
viation  of  present  favorable  appearances,  if  they  continue  as  when  Mr. 
Paige  left  you,  that  your  situation  must  still  be  full  of  distress.  In 
case  Mrs.  Webster  still  (309)  continues  in  a  condition  actually  critical, 
in  the  opinion  of  those  most  competent  to  judge  of  it,  I  do  not  think 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  303 


that  your  duty  to  the  public  requires  you  to  leave  her  to  resume  your 
seat  in  the  senate.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  me  that  under  such  circum 
stances  it  must  be  quite  impossible  for  you  to  attend  to  your  duties  in 
the  Senate,  and  I  think  you  ought  not  to  attempt  it.  Nor  do  I  think 
you  ought  to  return  to  Washington  till  your  own  health  is  in  a  good 
degree  restored  and  confirmed.  But  I  hope  and  trust,  my  dear  sir, 
that  when  you  receive  this  Mrs.  Webster  may  be  deemed  to  be  out  of 
danger.  If  however,  she  should  unfortunately  be  otherwise,  and  you 
should  be  obliged  to  remain  with  her  (as  I  think  in  that  case  you 
would),  I  much  doubt  whether  that  would  justify  you  in  immediately 
or  soon  vacating  your  seat  in  the  Senate.  This  I  understand  to  be  the 
intimation  in  your  letter.  Whether  her  continuing  long  in  such  situa 
tion  would  not  render  your  resignation  expedient,  can  be  determined 
hereafter.  I  most  cordially  wish  under  present  circumstances  that 
you  were  out  of  the  Senate;  but  I  do  not  see  how  you  will  justify  re 
signing  at  this  time.  Your  motives  will  be  misunderstood  by  many 
of  your  political  friends,  and  misunderstood  and  misrepresented  by  all 
your  political  enemies.  Your  resignation  would  unquestionably  be 
imputed  to  your  supposed  despair  of  success  of  the  administration 
party.  I  am  sure  it  would  be  so  represented  by  all  the  opposition  pa 
pers  in  the  United  States,  and  I  think  it  very  probable  that  many  not 
under  their  influence  would  believe  it.  Considering  your  standing, 
such  a  belief  might  at  the  present  time  do  the  administration  and  the 
country  vast  injury.  I  think  the  injury  arising  from  absence  from 
the  Senate  would  be  immeasurably  less  than  from  your  resignation. 
Having  accepted  the  place  so  recently,  nothing  but  imperious  neces 
sity  will  be  or  ought  to  be  considered  a  justification  for  resigning  it 
under  the  present  circumstances  of  the  country.  At  all  events,  I  hope 
you  will  not  come  to  a  determination  to  do  this  hastily.  If  you  find  it 
probable  that  you  must  be  absent  from  the  Senate,  the  whole  or  a 
chief  part  of  the  present  session,  I  think  you  ought  to  state  your  will 
ingness  to (310)  resign  to  some  of  your  political  friends  at  Washing 
ton,  and  be  in  some  measure  guided  by  their  opinion  of  its  expediency. 
There  can  be  no  danger  of  thereby  exposing  yourself  to  the  suspicion 
of  wishing  to  obtain  their  advice.  You  are  too  well  known  at  Wash 
ington  to  fear  anything  of  that  sort. 

After  giving  you  my  opinion  thus  frankly  on  this  point,  I  think  I 
am  bound  to  say  with  equal  frankness  that  not  only  Mrs.  Webster's 


304  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


situation,  if  it  continues  to  be  dangerous  and  critical,  but,  in  my 
opinion,  a  due  regard  for  your  own  health,  if  it  be  so  low  and  slender 
as  I  fear  it  is,  makes  it  your  duty  to  remain  quietly  where  you  are  for 
the  present.  I  know  the  call  for  you  in  the  Supreme  Court  will  be 
urgent,  but  I  really  fear  that  any  extraordinary  exertions  with  your 
present  feeble  health  and  anxiety  may  destroy  you.  If  you  do  return 
to  Washington,  I  most  sincerely  advise  you  to  abstain  as  much  as  pos 
sible  from  occasions  of  high  excitement  and  exertions.  Such  a  course, 
under  present  circumstances,  cannot  injure  your  reputation.  Since  I 
saw  you  in  Boston,  I  have  been  twice  to  Salem  to  attend  the  trials  of 
the  Argonaut.  We  have  had  two  tedious  jury  trials,  and  have  ob 
tained  two  successive  verdicts,  much  against  the  wishes  of  Judge  P. 
He  seemed  to  think  it  his  duty  to  obstruct  the  plaintiff's  course  as  much 
as  he  could,  but  I  believe  we  have  got  our  verdicts  on  such  grounds  as 
must  end  the  litigation,  though  not  on  the  ground  we  ought  to  have 
had  them.  I  left  Salem  immediately  after  the  last  verdict  was  given. 
I  have  no  doubt  the  Judge  has  in  some  way  reserved  the  cases  for  the 
whole  court. 

I  have  been  so  engaged  that  I  have  not  had  time  to  read  Mr. 
Clay's  letter ;  but  I  have  been  told  by  several  who  have  read  it  that  it  is 
entirely  conclusive,  and  that  it  cannot  fail  to  produce  extensive  effects. 

The  prospect  is  now  favorable  for  our  spring  elections.  There 
will  be  greater  exertions  and  excitement  than  we  have  experienced 
for  many  years. 

I  shall  be  very  desirous  of  hearing  occasionally  how  you  and 
(311)  Mrs.  Webster  are.  Mrs.  Mason  joins  me  in  affectionate  re 
gards  to  her  and  yourself. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  most  sincerely  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

PORTSMOUTH,  January  27,  1828. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  Your  two  letters  from  New  York  prepared 
us  to  expect  what  has  happened.  We  most  sincerely  sympathize  with 
you  in  this  event,  in  all  its  bearings  and  aspects,  so  melancholy  and  so 
distressing.  I  know  of  no  occasion  on  which  I  have  seen  Mrs.  Mason 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  305 


more  deeply  affected.  Without  perhaps  fully  appreciating  their  ex 
tent,  I  know  your  sufferings  have  been,  and  still  are,  excessive.  You 
have  all  the  consolation  that  the  sympathy  of  friends  and  universal 
condolence  can  give.  But  my  knowledge  of  you  my  dear  sir,  forbids 
the  hope  of  much  relief  or  benefit  from  this  source.  Your  consolation 
must  come  from  a  higher  source.  Your  relief  in  this  great  calamity 
rests  with  yourself  and  your  God,  and  there  I  confidently  trust  you 
will  find  it.  This  is  one  of  those  events  which  strikingly  illustrates 
the  vanity  of  human  expectations  and  the  imbecility  of  all  human 
power. 

Mr.  Ticknor  in  a  letter  of  yesterday,  says  he  understands  your  in 
tention  to  be  to  return  to  Washington  in  eight  or  ten  days.  This,  it 
seems  to  me,  ought  to  depend  entirely  on  your  own  feelings  and  the 
condition  of  your  health.  I  learn  from  Mr.  T.  that  your  business  at  the 
Supreme  Court  will  not  be  permitted  to  be  on  you  at  this  term.  This  I 
had  anticipated.  We  know  nothing  of  the  arrangements  you  have 
made  or  think  of  making  for  your  children  this  winter.  We  under 
stand  they  are  now  with  you  at  Mr.  Blake's.  Mrs.  Mason  desires  me 
to  say  to  you  that  in  case  you  can  form  no  plan  for  taking  care  of  them 
more  satisfactorily,  she  will  most  willingly  take  charge  of  the  two 
youngest  till  your  return  from  Washington  next  spring.  She  is  aware 
of  the  nature  of  the  trust  she  offers  to  assume  (312)  and  will  of  course 
execute  it  with  all  possible  care.  If  this  arrangement  appears  to  you 
preferable  to  any  other  you  can  make,  I  request  you  will  assent  to  it 
without  fear  or  any  apprehended  trouble  to  us.  For  be  assured,  my 
dear  Sir,  Mrs.  Mason  will  undertake  it  most  cheerfully.  When  I  first 
heard  of  your  being  at  Boston,  I  thought  of  going  there  to  see  you, 
but  I  fear  I  shall  not  be  able.  A  violent  snow-storm  is  now  raging, 
and  it  now  is  impossible  to  foresee  how  it  will  leave  the  travelling.  I 
am  likewise  at  this  time  much  pressed  with  engagements  for  the  win 
ter  session  of  our  Supreme  Court  which  commences  at  Dover  the  first 
of  next  week. 

Mrs.  Mason  desires  her  most  affectionate  regards  to  you. 
I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  most  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 


306  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  February  16,  1828. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  read  your  memoir  of  Chief  Justice  Mar 
shall,  in  the  "North  American  Review,"  with  great  pleasure.  It  is  al 
ways  a  difficult  task  to  recount  the  merits  of  an  eminent  man  while  liv 
ing,  and  do  him  only  tolerable  justice,  without  incurring  the  danger  of 
the  accusation  of  adulation.  Your  undertaking  was  rendered  more 
delicate  by  reason  of  your  connection  with  and  known  high  regard 
for  the  Chief  Justice.  I  think  you  have  succeeded,  as  far  as  you  have 
gone,  admirably  well.  You  have  certainly  done  right  in  giving  a  con 
cise  sketch  of  his  life,  and  leaving  his  actions  to  speak  his  praise,  with 
out  any  attempt  at  lauding,  which,  under  existing  circumstances, 
would  in  you  have  been  unbecoming.  In  one  particular,  I  wish  the 
memoir  had  been  more  dilated  and  full.  I  mean  his  great  opinions  on 
the  construction  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  I  am  aware 
of  the  difficulty  you  would  be  under  in  entering  at  large  into  the 
merits  of  this  labor,  in  which  you  have  yourself  so  largely  participat 
ed.  These  opinions  constitute  the  stronghold  for  the  Chief  Justice's 
fame,  and  must  sustain  it  (313)  while  the  Constitution  of  the  coun- 

40 

try  remains.  The  decisions  on  the  construction  of  the  Constitution,  on 
the  various  points  which  have  arisen  in  the  Supreme  Court,  have  done 
vastly  more  for  the  stability  and  permanency  of  our  system  of  govern 
ment,  than  the  present  generation  is  aware  of.  The  principles  in 
volved  in  those  decisions  are  constantly  developing  themselves  with  in 
creased  importance.  If  our  constitutions  ever  get  to  definite  and  well- 
settled  constructions,  it  must  be  chiefly  effected  by  judicial  tribunals. 
All  experience,  past  and  present,  shows  that  much  is  not  to  be  expected 
from  legislative  bodies.  Hence  the  vast  importance  that  the  early  de 
cisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  should  be  rested  on  principles  that  can 
never  be  shaken.  Since  I  parted  with  you  at  Salem,  I  have  been  almost 
constantly  engaged  in  courts.  I  have  been  again  at  Salem  on  the 
Argonaut,  and  obtained  another  verdict.  The  last  verdict  was  sub 
stantially  on  the  same  grounds  with  the  preceding  one.  I  expected  the 
defendants  would  have  submitted,  and  believe  that  was  their  intention 
at  the  close  of  the  trial.  But  from  their  not  having  disposed  of  the 
ship,  I  incline  to  think  they  intend  to  try  their  chance  with  the  whole 


1.     LEVI  WOODBURY.  3.     THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 

2.  GEORGE   PEABODY. 

4.     WILLIAM  WIRT.  5.     CHARLES  SUMNER. 

6.     RUFUS  KING.  8.     WILLIAM  PINKNEY. 

7.  ROGER  SHERMAN. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  307 


court  on  some  question  of  law.  I  suppose  Mr.  Webster  will  be  with 
you  before  this  reaches  you.  I  would  have  gone  to  Boston  to  see  him, 
but  I  could  not.  I  infer  from  his  letters,  and  what  I  learn  otherwise, 
that  he  has  been  most  deeply  affected,  but  that  he  bears  his  suffering 
with  fortitude.  This  I  expected  from  him.  His  loss  is  in  truth  most 
grievous.  His  wife  was  embraced  in  all  his  plans,  as  an  essential  part. 
I  know  of  no  woman  more  universally  beloved  or  who  more  deserved 
to  be  beloved.  I  trust  that  Mr.  Webster  will  not  undertake  any  severe 
labor  this  winter.  He  can  certainly  avoid  it  without  any  danger  to 
reputation,  if  he  pleases.  With  my  and  Mrs.  Mason's  and  Mary's 
kind  regards  to  Mrs.  Story. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  as  ever,  truly  yours, 

J.  MASON. 
(314) 

JOSEPH  STORY  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  27,   1828. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  thank  you  for  your  obliging  letter,  and  not  the 
less  so,  for  your  notice  of  the  review  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall's  life 
in  a  favorable  manner.  If  it  has  gone  tolerably  well  with  the  public, 
I  shall  sit  down  quite  contented,  for  at  the  period  of  its  publication,  I 
began  to  feel  a  good  deal  of  sensitiveness  on  this  point.  I  have  reserved 
a  full  display  of  his  constitutional  labors,  for  some  future  period.  Mr. 
Webster  is  now  here,  and  I  think  his  health  is  greatly  improved,  and  I 
no  longer  feel  any  anxiety  on  that  head.  But  our  meeting  was  quite 
painful ;  and  at  times  he  is  now  excessively  gloomy  and  thoughtful.  I 
find  great  difficulty  in  rousing  him  to  professional  or  public  labor,  and 
yet  when  so  roused,  he  brings  himself  out  with  all  his  accustomed 
energy,  and  is  for  the  time  comparatively  happy.  The  very  excite 
ment,  however,  tends  again  to  exhaustion  and  despondency;  and  his 
mental  distress,  and  his  struggles,  sometimes  to  disguise  and  some 
times  to  overcome  it,  are  not  a  little  embarrassing.  I  think  that  time 
and  distance,  which  are  great  things  in  all  human  affairs  (as  Mr. 
Burke  used  to  say),  will  ultimately  bring  him  up  to  his  usual  tone. 
By  the  by,  on  the  very  first  day  he  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate  on  his 
return,  the  Process  Bill,  which  has  been  so  long  before  that  body,  was 
on  its  last  reading;  and  having  glanced  at  its  form  and  terms  he  saw 

—21 


308  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


very  great  objections  to  it,  and  rose,  asked  one  or  two  explanations, 
speaking  in  a  very  subdued  and  cautious  tone.  Some  reply  was  made, 
and  he  then  merely  apologized  by  intimating  some  doubts.  He  spoke 
perhaps  for  five  or  ten  minutes.  Immediately  on  this,  Mr.  Tazewell 
came  out  upon  him  in  a  set  speech  of  two  hours,  and  pressed  him  in  a 
manner  which,  considering  his  painful  situation,  was  thought  uncalled 
for  and  inexcusable.  It  looked  like  an  attempt  to  grapple  with  and 
overcome  the  sick  lion.  It  happened  just  at  the  hour  of  adjournment 
and  Webster  moved  it,  excited  by  the  attack  to  a  reply.  He  talked 
over  the  matter  with  me  in  the  evening,  and  it  did  him  good.  (315) 
The  next  day  he  went  into  the  debate,  and  in  a  speech  of  about  two 
and  a  half  hours,  he  displayed  a  most  masterly  and  overwhelming 
argument,  and  in  the  judgment  of  everybody  broke  down  the  bill.  In 
short  it  was  recommitted,  and  as  such  in  its  present  form  is  dead.  Al 
though  the  subject  was  somewhat  technical,  he  quite  interested  the 
public,  and  his  triumph  was  as  splendid  as  his  friends  could  wish.  He 
is  now  engaged  in  the  business  of  the  court,  and  complains  (and  truly) 
that  he  finds  it  almost  impossible  to  fix  his  mind  strongly  enough  upon 
it,  to  work  well.  We  do  all  we  can  to  stimulate  and  cheer  him,  and  it 
produces  a  good  effect,  and  before  the  close  of  the  term,  I  have  no 
question  he  will  feel  the  stirring  ambition  of  excelling  about  him.  De 
pend  upon  it,  he  must  be  kept  employed  or  he  will  be  miserable.  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  there  has  been  some  truth  in  the  rumor  that  he 
was  about  to  be  sent  to  England.  He  spoke  to  me  the  other  day  on 
the  subject  with  a  view  to  draw  out  my  opinion.  I  do  not  know 
whether  you  will  agree  with  me,  but  I  frankly  stated  my  opinion  to  be 
at  the  present  juncture  against  it.  I  alluded  to  the  fact  that  he  stood 
at  the  head  of  the  administration  party,  and  particularly  in  the  Senate 
he  was  indispensable  to  its  successful  progress ;  that  with  a  view  to 
ulterior  objects,  he  was  now  precisely  where  the  public  would  have  an 
opportunity  of  appreciating  him,  and  he  of  bringing  home  his  char 
acter  to  their  closest  observation,  that  the  times  were  critical,  and 
services  now  rendered  would  not  be  forgotten.  That  a  withdrawal 
from  these  scenes  would  be  thought  a  timid  choice  to  escape  from  re 
sponsibility  by  some,  and  by  others  as  little  more  than  an  honorable 
exile.  That  if  possible  the  administration  might  linger  on  with  a 
charge  for  a  year,  when  the  crisis  would  be  over.  That,  however  de 
sirable  to  himself  under  his  present  situation,  as  a  change  of  scene,  it 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  309 


would  throw  him  out  of  professional  employment  for  the  time,  and 
compel  him,  after  great  expenses,  to  return  back  with  some  disad 
vantages.  From  this  short  sketch  you  will  perceive  the  channel  in 
which  my  thoughts  run.  He  was  much  inclined  to  think  my  notions 
right.  What  will  be  the  final  result  I  know  not,  but  I  think  (316)  he 
will  stay  at  home.  In  respects  to  politics  I  should  have  much  to  say,  if 
I  were  at  your  fireside.  The  appearances  grow  every  day  more  favor 
able  to  Mr.  Adams'  re-election.  The  opposition  in  Congress  are  a  good 
deal  alarmed  and  fluttering.  It  is  whispered  that  Mr.  Macon  of  North 
Carolina  begins  to  talk  very  moderately,  and  Mr.  Benton  begins  to  be 
a  little  doubted  by  his  own  friends.  The  chances  in  Pennsylvania  are, 
in  the  estimate  of  all,  very  favorable ;  and  indeed  her  vote  is  now  al 
most  certainly  calculated  on.  Virginia  is  in  great  commotion.  I  do  not 
believe  her  vote  will  be  changed,  but  the  days  of  her  dynasty  will  be 
soon  numbered,  and  you  may  expect  that  a  great  revolution  will  take 
place  before  long  in  her  public  policy  and  public  servants.  Kentucky 
is  now  understood  to  be  safe.  New  Jersey  also,  and  Maryland  with  a 
decided  major  vote.  Unless,  therefore,  some  positively  unlucky 
changes  take  place,  there  is  much  reason  to  rely  with  confidence  on  the 
re-election  of  Mr.  Adams.  So  much,  my  dear  sir,  for  the  gossip  of 
politics.  Of  other  gossip  I  know  little.  The  court  will  probably  ad 
journ  about  the  15th  of  March.  We  have  done  a  good  deal  of  busi 
ness  and  shall  not  probably  leave  sixty  causes  behind  us.  This  is  a 
great  victory  over  the  old  docket,  and  encourages  me  to  hope  much 
from  the  future  course  of  the  court.  I  heard  with  very  great  satis 
faction  from  other  sources,  of  your  second  triumph  in  the  Argonaut, 
with  the  additional  fact  that  you  had  added  very  much  to  your  former 
argument,  convincing  all  but  one.  Mrs.  Story  desires  her  love  to  Mrs. 
Mason  and  Mary  and  Jane,  in  which  I  wish  to  be  permitted  to  join, 
being  with  the  highest  respect  her  and  your 

Much  obliged  friend,  JOSEPH  STORY. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  March  12,  1827. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Mr.  C.  S.  Daveis  of  Portland  is  desirous  of  ob 
taining  the  appointment  of  reporter  of  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme 


310  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


Court  of  the  United  States,    now  vacant    by  the    resignation  of  Mr. 

(317)  Wheaton.     Mr.  Daveis  is  certainly  a  good     lawyer,     and  dis 
tinguished  for  laborious  and  persevering  industry.     His  studies  and 
taste  are  quite  congenial  with  the  place  he  is  desirous  of,  and  I  have  no 
doubt,  if  appointed,  he  would  perform  its  duties  with  much  diligence 
and  entire  faithfulness.    As  Mr.  Daveis  is  personally  known  to  you, 
you  can  best  judge  of  his  fitness,  and  it  would  be  useless  if  not  im 
proper  for  me  to  urge  his  claims  on  your  consideration.    All  I  mean  is, 
to  request,  in  case  the  situation  be  not  already  filled,  that  his  claims 
may  be  fairly  considered  among  those  of  other  candidates.     Not  hav 
ing  heard  that  the  Supreme  Court  has  risen,  I  shall  direct  this  letter  to 
you  at  Washington,  with  much  doubt  whether  you  will  not  have  left 
before  this  reaches  that  place. 

I  am  as  ever,  truly  yours,  J.  MASON. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  March  20,  1828. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  The  practice  of  asking  the  advice  of  friends  in 
one's  own  affairs  is  a  little  old-fashioned.  I  do  not  think  very  highly 
of  the  custom  myself.  Still,  I  now  write  mainly  with  the  purpose  of 
taxing  your  good-nature  with  the  request  that  you  will  say,  in  a 
straightforward  way  and  few  words,  what  you  think  upon  the  sub 
ject  with  which  the  newspapers  have  been  busy  for  some  time  past.  I 
do  not  mean  to  trouble  you  for  a  long  statement  of  pros  and  cons.  Nor 
do  I  mean  to  anticipate  your  impressions  by  a  single  suggestion  of  my 
own.  You  see  what  all  the  world  sees,  and  know  what  all  the  world 
knows,  of  the  state  of  things  here,  and  of  my  present  conditions.  Will 
it  be  the  best  for  the  administration,  and  best  for  me,  that  I  stay 
where  I  am,  or  that  I  go  elsewhere?  I  care  not  how  shortly  you  speak, 
but  I  pray  you  to  speak  freely.  We  are  in  very  good  spirits,  with  the 
news  from  New  Hampshire.  I  believe  certain  gentlemen  here  are  a 
good  deal  disappointed.  It  was  confidently  expected  by  them,  that 

(318)  General  Pierce  would  succeed.    We  trust  he  has  failed,  and  it 
seems  our  friend  Hill  is  out  also.    Affairs  here  are  wearing  rather  a 
better  appearance.    The  intelligence  from  interesting  points  is  a  lit 
tle  cheering.    Perhaps  the  most  important  contests,  or  rather  one  of 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  311 


the  earliest  of  the  important  contests,  will  be  in  Kentucky.  The  elec 
tion  of  governor  takes  place  in  that  State  on  the  first  Monday  in 
August.  The  whole  will  turn,  mainly,  on  the  administration  question. 
Metcalf  is  candidate  for  the  administration  side,  and  Barry,  whom  you 
know,  for  the  opposition.  The  result  of  this  election  is  likely  to  de 
cide  the  ultimate  vote  (the  whole  vote)  of  Kentucky,  and  must  neces 
sarily  have  a  great  operation  elsewhere.  If  Barry  should  succeed,  by 
a  strong  vote,  I  should  give  up  Kentucky,  and,  with  Kentucky,  nearly 
all  hope  of  Mr.  Adams'  re-election.  New  York  is  unquestionably 
mending.  If  it  goes  on,  as  it  is  now  going,  a  great  majority  of  votes 
in  that  State  will  be  for  Mr.  Adams.  The  Louisiana  members  are  to  be 
elected  again,  in  July.  It  is  believed  Mr.  Livingston  will  be  left  out, 
and  a  friend  of  the  administration  elected  in  New  Orleans.  Judge 
Story  left  us  two  days  ago.  The  court  has  had  an  interesting  session, 
and  decided  many  causes.  The  judge  of  our  circuit  has  drawn  up  an 
uncommon  number  of  its  opinions,  and,  I  think,  some  of  them  with  un 
common  ability. 

Yours  always  truly,  D.  WEBSTER. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

PORTSMOUTH,  March  27,  1828. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  omitted  to  answer  your  letter  a  few  days 
because  I  did  not  well  know  how  to  answer  it.  You  ask  whether  I 
think  it  best  for  the  administration,  and  best  for  you  that  you  remain 
where  you  are,  or  go  elsewhere,  that  is,  accept  the  appointment  to 
England  offered  you.  On  the  first  question,  I  have  no  doubt;  for 
obvious  reasons.  I  think  it  is  certainly  best  for  the  administration  that 
you  remain  where  you  are.  In  your  present  situation  (319)  you  can 
render  the  most  essential  aid  and  support,  the  loss  of  which  at  this 
time  would  be  severely  felt.  The  administration  at  the  present  time 
need  all  their  strength,  and  that  exerted  to  the  greatest  possible  ad 
vantage.  Your  services  in  the  Senate  may  be  greatly  important  at  the 
next  session,  and  if  Mr.  Adams  succeeds  in  his  election,  as  I  trust  he 
will,  your  services  will  probably  be  vastly  more  important  at  the  next 
Congress.  But  what  I  deem  of  still  greater  importance  is  your  influ 
ence  in  the  approaching  election,  which  by  leaving  the  country  will  be 


312  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


lost  or  greatly  lessened.  Without  entering  at  large  into  the  reasons,  I 
am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  your  remaining  where  you  are  is  most 
advantageous  for  the  administration. 

On  the  other  question  I  have  had  doubts,  but  after  giving  it  the 
best  consideration  in  my  power,  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
what  is  best  for  the  administration  is  also  best  for  you.  The  success 
of  the  present  administration  deeply  involves  the  best  hopes  and  high 
est  interests  of  the  country.  You  are  a  public  man,  and,  as  I  believe, 
are  destined  to  continue  a  public  man,  and  as  such  you  are  in  a  great 
degree  identified  with  the  administration.  Under  such  circumstances, 
it  seems  to  me  that  you  cannot  well  sever  your  personal  interests  from 
the  interests  of  the  administration  and  of  the  country.  If  I  am  right 
on  the  first  question,  of  which  I  entertain  no  doubt,  your  services  in 
England  at  this  time  will  be  of  minor  importance  when  compared  with 
your  services  at  home.  If  so,  there  seems  to  be  something  of  the  na 
ture  of  public  duty  in  the  case.  And  I  trust  it  is  and  will  continue  to 
be  the  true  interest  of  an  elevated  public  man  to  follow  the  path  of  his 
duty.  The  administration,  believing  you  to  be  entitled  to  it,  may  be 
willing  to  give  you  the  contemplated  appointment,  if  you  wish  for  it, 
but  I  presume  they  cannot  be  desirous  that  you  should  accept  it.  I  do 
not  think  that  the  ribaldry  of  the  opposition  newspapers  ought  to  be 
permitted  to  have  any  influence  whatever  on  your  determination. 

I  have  in  compliance  with  your  request  given  you  my  frank 
opinion  without  any  detail  of  reasons.  And  I  think  I  ought  with 
equal  frankness  to  tell  you  that  I  do  not  feel  much  confidence  in  (320) 
the  correctness  of  my  opinion.  I  am  too  far  removed  from  the 
great  world,  and  too  little  conversant  with  political  affairs,  to  be 
competent  to  form  a  judgment  of  any  value  on  this  matter.  I  am 
aware  there  may  be  considerations  of  a  private  nature,  arising  from 
your  own  feelings  at  the  present  time,  which  may  be  entitled  to  much 
weight.  Of  these  you  alone  can  judge. 

I  am  as  ever  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  313 

DANIEL   WEBSTER   TO   JEREMIAH   MASON. 

August  1,  1828. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  seen  Mr.  Cowperthwaite  this  morning, 
and  had  a  full  conversation  with  him,  respecting  the  state  of  the 
bank  at  Portsmouth.  At  his  request  I  have  agreed  to  write  to  you, 
and  I  come  at  once  to  the  main  matter.  He  thinks  it  important 
that  you  should  take  the  Presidency  of  the  Branch,  if  you  can  be 
persuaded  to  do  so.  He  says  you  manifested  no  disposition  for  it; 
but  I  did  not  learn  from  him  that  he  had  suggested  a  probable  in 
crease  of  the  salary,  as  among  the  motives.  It  now  stands,  I  hear,  at 
eight  hundred  dollars.  He  desires  me  to  say,  confidentially,  that 
if  twice  that  amount  would  induce  you  to  take  the  office,  it  would 
be  given  cheerfully.  In  all  probability,  the  amount  of  pay  would 
not  be  a  subject  of  difference  between  you  and  the  bank,  if  you 
were  inclined  to  have  the  office.  He  is  to  leave  Boston  on  Monday 
morning,  and  I  am  anxious  to  hear  from  you  before  his  departure. 
I  suppose  you  have  weighed  the  pros  and  cons,  and  probably  have 
a  feeling  one  way  or  the  other  on  the  subject.  I  do  not  wish  to  in 
fluence  your  judgment,  but  should  think  it  a  great  object  with  the 
bank  to  obtain  your  services,  and  am  persuaded  they  would  pay  as 
liberally  as  you  should  think  they  ought.  If  you  have  made  up  your 
mind  fully  against  it,  Mr.  Waldron  will  be  appointed.  In  that  case 
the  bank  will  immediately  crave  leave  to  send  you  a  large  retainer, 
at  least  a  proper  one,  and  engage  your  professional  services,  (321) 
with  a  desire  that  you  should  pay  particular  attention  to  its  affairs 
and  be  paid  accordingly.  After  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  I  will  thank 
you  not  to  enter  into  any  engagement  adverse  to  the  bank,  until 
there  shall  be  time  to  hear  from  Philadelphia.  Contrive  to  let  me 
have  an  answer  on  Sunday.  I  write  this  at  Beverly,  having  come 
down  here  to  visit  Mr.  Thorndyke's  family.  I  shall  return  to  B.  this 
evening.  Yours  truly, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

In  the  spring  of  1828  the  first  great  sorrow  of  Mr.  Mason's  life 
fell  upon  him  in  the  death  of  his  second  son,  Alfred,  which  occurred 
at  the  Bellevue  Hospital  in  New  York,  April  12,  1828.  He  was  a 
young  man  of  remarkable  abilities,  engaging  manners,  and  strong 
scientific  tastes.  He  was  a  student  of  medicine,  and  pursued  his 


314  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


professional  studies  with  such  interest  and  energy  as  to  awaken  the 
highest  hopes  of  future  usefulness  and  distinction.  Applying  for 
the  post  of  assistant  surgeon  at  the  Bellevue  Hospital,  he  was  suc 
cessful  in  his  application  over  a  large  number  of  competitors.  De 
voting  himself  to  his  duties  with  unremitting  zeal  during  the  prev 
alence  of  an  epidemic,  with  an  heroic  disregard  of  danger  to  himself, 
worn  down  by  care,  anxiety,  and  toil,  he  was  attacked  by  a  disease 
which  his  exhausted  frame  was  unable  to  resist.  His  death  was 
mourned  by  many  who  had  watched  with  interest  his  brilliant  pro 
fessional  progress,  and  his  winning  and  amiable  traits  of  character, 
and  with  what  crushing  weight  it  fell  upon  the  hearts  of  his  father 
and  mother  can  be  felt  only  by  those  who  have  learned  by  their  own 
experience  how  sweet  are  the  joys,  and  how  sharp  the  sorrows  of  a 
parent.1 

In  the  summer  of  1828  Mr.  Mason  was  chosen  president  of  the 
Branch  Bank  of  the  United  States  at  Portsmouth. 

For  many  years  this  institution  had  not  been  judiciously  or 
profitably  managed.  A  large  portion  of  its  funds  had  been  employed 
in  discounting  accommodation  paper,  in  other  words,  in  lending  money 

(322) 

without  security.  The  notes  so  discounted  usually  ran  for  four 
months,  and  when  they  matured,  a  payment  of  only  ten  per  cent,  was 
required,  and  for  the  remainder  a  new  note  was  given.  Thus,  under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances  it  required  three  years  and  four 
months  to  discharge  a  debt,  and  as  there  was  no  security,  the  final 
payment  depended  upon  the  continued  solvency  of  either  maker  or 
indorser  of  the  discounted  paper. 

But  even  these  partial  payments  of  ten  per  cent,  were  dispensed 
with,  and  sometimes  the  money  to  make  them  was  procured  by  new 
accommodation  loans.  So  long  had  this  usage  continued  that  it  had 
acquired  something  of  the  force  of  a  legal  precedent,  and  the  cus 
tomers  of  the  bank  had  come  to  consider  that  they  had  a  sort  of  vested 
right  to  renew  their  notes  on  payment  of  ten  per  cent.  To  such 
an  extent  had  the  practice  prevailed  that  when  Mr.  Mason  entered 
upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  president  nearly  a  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  of  the  capital  of  the  bank  were  invested  in 

1  A  further  account  of  this  amiable  and  promising  young  man  will  be  found 
in  the  Appendix. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  315 


accommodation  paper,  with  the  understanding  that  only  ten  per 
cent,  should  be  paid  every  four  months.  Of  this  amount  between 
eightly  and  ninety  thousand  dollars  were  due  from  persons  in  the 
interior  of  the  State,  and  in  Maine,  most  of  whom  were  not  engaged 
in  business.  And  this  bad  method  had  been  pursued  in  spite  of 
strong  injunctions  to  the  contrary  in  a  letter  written  by  the  president 
of  the  parent  bank  to  Mr.  Mason's  predecessor  in  November,  1826. 

The  directors  of  the  parent  bank  at  Philadelphia  became  uneasy 
at  the  state  of  things  at  Portsmouth,  and  felt  that  a  radical  change 
of  management  was  necessary,  and  that  such  change  could  only  be 
effected  by  putting  the  branch  there  in  charge  of  a  man  who  not  only 
understood  the  true  principles  of  banking,  but  had  firmness  enough 
to  enforce  and  adhere  to  them. 

The  friends  of  the  bank,  Mr.  Webster  especially,  strongly  recom 
mended  Mr.  Mason  for  the  place  of  president.  This  was  done,  not 
only  without  any  suggestion  from  him,  but  without  his  knowledge, 
and  when  the  offer  was  first  made  to  him  he  was  inclined  to  refuse 

(323) 

it,  alike  from  distrust  of  his  ability  to  discharge  duties  to  which  he 
had  not  been  trained,  and  from  reluctance  to  be  even  partially  with 
drawn  from  the  practice  of  his  profession.  But  his  disinclination 
yielded  at  last  to  the  persuasion  of  his  friends  and  the  friends  of  the 
bank,  and  he  was  accordingly  made  president. 

He  had  never  been  a  banker,  nor  even  a  bank  director,  nor  had 
he  been  engaged  in  business ;  but  he  had  a  mind  eminently  fitted  to 
grasp  the  true  principles  of  banking,  finance,  and  the  currency,  as  well 
as  the  firmness  and  perseverance  needed  in  one  who  undertakes  to 
reform  abuses  whether  great  or  small.  He  perceived  at  once  that  the 
management  of  the  bank  had  been  opposed  to  the  true  principles  of 
banking,  which  are,  first,  to  discount  business  paper,  or  lend  money 
on  the  security  of  actual  property;  and,  second,  as  a  general  rule, 
to  enforce  payment  of  every  loan  at  maturity.  He  therefore  resolved 
to  change  the  mischievous  practice  which  had  so  long  prevailed,  but 
his  sound  sense  and  large  experience  of  life  taught  him  that  all  reform 
should  be  gradual,  and  that  the  debtors  of  the  bank  must  have  a 
reasonable  time  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  new  policy. 

He  therefore  made  no  change  in  the  old  usage  at  the  date  of  the 
first  maturity  of  each  accommodation  note  after  his  accession  to  office. 


316  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


Ten  per  cent,  was  paid,  and  a  new  note  was  given  for  the  remainder. 
But  he  required  the  new  note  to  be  given  for  sixty  days,  and  when 
that  matured  he  exacted  a  payment  of  twenty  per  cent.  Thus  the  in 
tervals  of  payment  were  shortened,  and  the  amounts  increased,  each 
by  one  half. 

Such  was  the  general  rule  applied ;  but  where  satisfactory  securi 
ty  was  offered  more  favorable  terms  were  granted,  and  no  honest  man 
was  oppressed  or  harshly  dealt  with ;  and  when  a  debtor  was  unable 
to  pay  in  full,  Mr.  Mason  was  always  ready  to  listen  to  fair  terms  of 
settlement. 

In  making  new  loans  preference  was  uniformly  given  to  business 
paper,  and  no  loans  were  made  in  the  interior  of  the  State  except  to 
persons  of  undoubted  pecuniary  ability.  (324) 

The  results  of  this  course  were  entirely  satisfactory.  In  August, 
1829,  the  old  loans  to  parties  in  the  interior  of  the  State  had  been 
reduced  to  thirty-five  thousand  dollars,  and  the  whole  amount  of 
loans  to  parties  living  in  small  towns  in  the  interior  was  only  forty- 
nine  thousand  dollars,  a  little  more  than  half  the  amount  a  year 
before. 

The  customers  of  the  bank,  and  the  business  community  gener 
ally  acquiesced  in  this  change  of  policy,  and  submitted  without  a 
murmur  to  the  inconvenience  which  in  some  instances  it  occa 
sioned.  But,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  there  were  some  ex 
ceptions.  Some  bore  with  impatience  the  pressure  laid  upon  them 
by  the  necessity  of  paying  twenty  per  cent,  every  two  months  in 
stead  of  ten  per  cent,  every  four  months.  And  thus  there  grew  up 
a  certain  amount  of  discontent  and  of  consequent  ill-will  to  Mr. 
Mason. 

But  all  this  might  have  passed  away  and  made  no  sign  had  not 
politics  come  in  to  blow  the  spark  into  a  flame.  The  administration 
of  President  Jackson  began  on  the  4th  of  March,  1829,  and  the  new 
chief  magistrate  entered  upon  his  office  with  no  friendly  feeling  to 
ward  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Mason,  though  taking  no 
active  part  in  politics,  had  given  his  name  and  influence  in  favor  of 
Mr.  Adams  and  against  General  Jackson.  The  second  comptroller  of 
the  treasury  was  Mr.  Isaac  Hill,  of  New  Hampshire,  a  zealous  and 
influential  politician,  high  in  the  confidence  of  the  President,  and 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  317 


certainly  no  friend  to  Mr.  Mason.  Under  his  lead,  and  that  of  Mr. 
Levi  Woodbury,  also  a  personal  and  political  favorite  of  the  Presi 
dent,  the  democratic  party  of  New  Hampshire  were  arrayed  in  op 
position  to  the  Portsmouth  Branch,  and  Mr.  Mason's  management 
of  it. 

The  first  acts  of  hostility  came  in  the  form  of  two  memorials  to 
the  directors  of  the  parent  bank  in  Philadelphia :  one  dated  June  27, 
1829,  from  sundry  residents  of  Portsmouth  and  its  vicinity,  and  one 
dated  June  29,  1829,  from  several  members  of  the  New  Hampshire 
House  of  Representatives,  both  praying  for  the  removal  of  (325) 
Mr.  Mason  from  the  office  of  president.  These  memorials  were 
alike  in  temper  and  spirit,  and  were  evidently  arrows  out  of  the  same 
quiver.  They  made  vague  charges  of  harshness  and  partiality,  but 
contained  no  statements  of  particular  acts. 

Next  came  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  War  to  Mr.  Mason  in 
his  official  capacity,  dated  August  3,  1829,  informing  him  that  it  had 
been  found  necessary  to  change  the  pension  agency  in  New  Hamp 
shire  from  Portsmouth  to  Concord;  that  William  Pickering  of  the 
latter  place  had  been  appointed  pension  agent,  and  directing  Mr. 
Mason,  upon  the  production  of  an  order  which  would  be  sent  by  the 
department  to  Mr.  Pickering,  to  deliver  to  him  all  the  books  and 
papers  relating  to  the  pension  agency,  and  any  balance  of  funds  in  his 
hands.  Mr.  Pickering  forthwith  appeared  with  the  order  in  question, 
and  demanded  the  books,  papers,  and  funds  accordingly.  Mr.  Mason, 
after  a  careful  examination  of  the  acts  of  Congress  upon  the  subject, 
having  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  War  Department  had  no  right 
to  take  from  the  bank  a  duty  devolved  upon  it  by  Congress,  declined 
to  comply  with  the  order,  and  so  reported  to  the  president  of  the 
parent  bank  at  Philadelphia.  The  directors,  after  an  elaborate  legal 
opinion  by  John  Sergeant  and  Horace  Binney,  fully  sustaining  the 
conclusions  of  Mr.  Mason,  approved  his  course,  and  the  matter  was 
dropped  without  any  further  action  on  the  part  of  the  administration. 

The  memorials  above  mentioned  were  taken  into  consideration 
by  the  government  of  the  bank  at  Philadelphia,  and  it  was  determined 
that  the  president  and  one  of  the  assistant  cashiers  should  visit 
Portsmouth,  and  carefully  inquire  into  the  complaints  against  Mr. 
Mason.  In  August,  1829,  Mr.  Biddle  accordingly  spent  some  days 


318  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


in  Portsmouth.  A  circular  letter  was  addressed  to  all  the  signers  of 
the  memorial,  inviting  them  to  lay  their  grievances  before  him. 
Several  responded  to  the  call,  and  their  complaints  were  patiently 
heard.  Mr.  Biddle  then  addressed  Mr.  Mason  a  letter  setting  forth 
all  the  charges  which  had  been  made  against  him,  to  which  Mr. 
Mason  replied  with  full  explanations  on  every  point  (326)  urged. 
The  letter  and  the  reply  were  drawn  up  with  legal  precision,  and 
resembled  a  libel  and  answer  in  admiralty. 

The  charges  and  answers  being  thus  reduced  to  writing  were 
carefully  inquired  into  both  by  oral  evidence  and  an  examination  of 
the  books  of  the  bank.  The  result  was  a  complete  vindication  of  Mr. 
Mason  on  every  point  of  complaint,  and  a  report  to  that  effect  was 
made  to  the  directors  at  Philadelphia,  who,  on  the  13th  of  Novem 
ber,  adopted  a  resolution  that  the  various  charges  and  allegations 
against  him  were  entirely  groundless. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  all  these  attacks  were  made  up 
on  Mr.  Mason  exclusively,  as  if  he  had  been  the  autocrat  of  the  bank, 
and  was  solely  responsible  for  its  management.  But  such  was  not 
the  case.  He  had  the  advice  and  support  of  a  board  of  directors, 
some  of  whom  had  held  the  same  office  under  his  predecessor.  No 
step  of  any  importance  was  ever  taken  without  consulting  the  direc 
tors,  and  it  was  unusual  that  any  difference  of  opinion  arose  be 
tween  them  and  the  president;  and  when  such  difference  did  occur, 
he  sometimes  yielded  his  judgment  to  theirs. 

Mr.  Mason  retained  his  office  of  president  so  long  as  he  lived  in 
Portsmouth,  and  no  further  demonstrations  were  made  against  him, 
and  the  prosperity  of  the  branch  bank  under  his  charge,  during  a 
trying  financial  period,  vindicated  the  wisdom  of  his  policy. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  January  6,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  thank  you  and  Mrs.  Mason  for  all  your  kind  con 
gratulations  and  good  wishes.  ]  I  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  mak 
ing  Mrs.  Webster  acquainted  with  your  family  soon  after  our  return 
to  New  England,  and  it  is  among  my  most  ardent  wishes,  and  one 

3   On  Mr.  Webster's  second  marriage. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  319 


also  of  my  firmest  expectations,  that  the  affectionate  friendship,  which 
has  so  long  uninterruptedly  subsisted  between  our  families,  may  be 
cherished  and  strengthened  by  the  new  connection  which  I  (327) 
have  formed.  We  are  now  just  getting  into  our  lodgings  and  becom 
ing  settled  for  the  winter.  Julia  is  with  us.  Her  health  is  good  and 
she  appears  very  happy  and  well  pleased.  In  the  political  world, 
little  has  yet  transpired.  Mr.  Baldwin  of  Pittsburg,  is  to  be  the  new 
judge  vice  Washington.  This  is  another  escape.  We  had  given  up 
all  hope  of  anything  but  Chief  Justice  Gibson's  nomination.  Mr. 
Baldwin  is  supposed  to  be,  substantively,  a  sound  man,  and  he  is  un 
doubtedly  a  man  of  some  talents.  The  nominations,  some  of  them, 
have  come  in,  and  we  shall  have  much  debate.  We  shall  be  beaten, 
however,  by  four  votes,  if  the  Senate  is  full,  twenty-two  to  twenty- 
six I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  so  often  as  you  can  find 

time  to  write.  I  pray  the  most  affectionate  remembrance  to  your 
wife  and  daughters. 

Yours  always  truly, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

PORTSMOUTH,  February  8,  1830. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  intended  some  time  ago  to  have  written  to  you, 
but  the  courts  in  this  and  Strafford  County  kept  me  constantly  en 
gaged  during  the  last  month ;  before  they  were  over  I  was  attacked 
by  a  cold  so  severe,  as  to  threaten  serious  illness. 

I  have  seen  your  first  speech  on  Mr.  Foot's  resolutions.  Of  the 
second  I  heard  the  echo  only,  which  is  loud  and  distinct.  I  presume 
it  will  be  soon  published,  and  I  look  for  it  with  great  interest.  I  am 
rejoiced  that  you  have  been  able  on  this  occasion  to  place  yourself 
and  New  England  on  high  ground.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  you 
will  be  obliged  to  be  again  out,  during  the  present  session  on  the 
subject  of  executive  appointments,  on  which  it  seems  to  me  you  can 
not  fail.  That  discussion  is  unavoidable,  and  ought  certainly  in 
some  way  to  be  made  public.  If  this  is  to  be  your  last  session  in  the 
Senate  (as  you  have  intimated),  it  is  greatly  desirable,  for  obvious 
reasons,  that  you  quit  with  eclat.  (328) 

The  movements  in  this  State  preparatory  to  the  spring  elections 


320  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


seem  in  some  small  degree  to  have  lessened  the  apathy  and  stupor 
which  have  prevailed  ever  since  the  late  Presidential  election.  General 
Upham's  nomination  for  governor  is  well  received,  and  considerable 
exertion  will  be  made  to  effect  his  election.  He  unites  all  the  friends 
of  the  late  administration,  and  present  appearances  justify  the  ex 
pectation  that  some  of  those  who  were  attached  to  the  present  ad 
ministration  will  give  him  their  aid.  Some  were  disgusted  with  his 
being  so  rudely  turned  out  of  office,  and  others,  by  the  general  course 
of  the  administration.  I  should  feel  more  confident  of  the  expected 
effect  of  these  causes  were  there  less  abundant  evidence  of  the  deep 
political  depravity  of  the  present  times.  In  this  particular  I  am  in 
clined  to  think  our  poor  State  suffers  more  grievously  than  most 
others  of  the  Union.  Considerations  of  personal  interest  have  much 
more  influence,  with  our  people,  than  heretofore.  By  the  manner 
in  which  the  offices  of  emolument  of  government  have  lately  been  dis 
posed  of,  great  numbers  of  individuals  are  led  to  expect  some  advan 
tage  from  being  connected  with  the  dominant  party.  Instances  are 
not  unfrequent  of  the  public  avowal  of  such  motives,  and  so  callous 
has  the  public  mind  become,  that  the  avowal  creates  little  or  no 
disgust  with  the  community.  I  am  of  opinion  that  a  great  portion  of 
this  excess  of  political  depravity,  in  this  State,  may  be  traced  to  two 
individuals 

I  hope  that  you  have  before  this  time  disposed  of  Duff  Greene  to 
your  satisfaction. 

I  understand  that  many  of  your  friends  in  Boston  are  coming  to 
an  opinion  that  you  will  remove  to  New  York.  Whatever  may  be 
your  final  determination,  it  seems  to  me  unadvisable  to  let  public 
opinion  settle  decisively  that  way,  before  you  shall  have  determined 
the  matter  yourself. 

Should  you  determine  in  favor  of  it,  I  shall  personally  regret  your 
removal.  It  would  necessarily  render  our  personal  intercourse  less 
frequent.  Death  has  destroyed  so  many  of  my  friendships  that  I  have 
but  few  remaining.  I  do  not  fear  that  your  removal  would  (329) 
lessen  the  force  of  our  long  subsisting  friendship,  but  it  would  un 
doubtedly  lessen  the  pleasure  I  should  otherwise  derive  from  it. 

I  am  as  ever,  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  321 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON.  March  2,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, —  I  see  in  the  "Boston  Statesman"  of  February  26  or 
27,  a  renewal  of  an  old  story,  told  a  year  ago  or  two  ago,  about  a  let 
ter,  said  to  be  written  by  me  to  Mr.  Atherton,  relative  to  the  Hart 
ford  Convention.  If  I  remember,  when  the  story  was  told  before, 
your  name  had  something  to  do  with  it.  I  have  no  recollection  of 
any  letter  to  Mr.  Atherton  on  the  subject,  written  by  you  and  me,  or 
by  me  singly.  If  you  could  inquire  of  Mr.  Atherton,  and  learn  whether 
any  letter  of  any  kind  was  written  to  him,  by  us,  or  either  of  us, 
without  communicating  to  him  that  you  do  it  at  my  request,  I  should 
be  glad  to  know  what  he  has  to  say  about  it.  But  I  do  not  incline 
to  inquire  myself,  nor  that  you  should  inquire  in  my  name  or  behalf. 
We  have  no  news  here  since  I  wrote  you  last.  Appointments  not  act 
ed  on.  We  have  seen  an  account  of  your  Portsmouth  Town  Meeting, 
—the  letters,  etc.  I  believe  Mr.  Bell  can  find  no  originals  here. 

Yours  truly, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

PORTSMOUTH,  May  13,  1830. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  send  you  inclosed  a  letter  from  Robert  Means  in 
answer  to  my  request  to  him  to  inquire  of  Mr.  Atherton  respecting 
the  newspaper  story  of  your  advising  him  to  join  the  Hartford  Con 
vention.  I  suppose  you  have  seen  his  voluntary  disavowal  in  the 
Boston  papers  of  your  having  made  any  such  application.  (330) 

Vast  numbers  of  your  speech  have  been  published,  and  they  seem 
to  be  producing  a  strong  impression.  Were  it  not  for  the  depraved 
condition  of  political  morality,  I  should  entertain  hopes  that  the 
present  discussion  in  the  Senate  would  produce  great  and  permanent 
alterations  in  public  opinion.  It  must  doubtless  have  considerable 
effect.  I  hope  Governor  Befl  will  answer  Woodbury's  miserable  trash. 
Indeed,  I  do  not  see  how  he  can  in  justice  to  himself  avoid  doing  it. 

Our  election  is  lost,  as  you  have  probably  seen  by  the  newspapers, 
The  falsehoods  and  forgeries  against  Upham  were  contradicted  as 


322  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


speedily  as  they  could  be,  but  there  was  not  time  for  the  contradic 
tion  to  have  its  full  effect,  except  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  this 
place. 

It  is  believed  that  if  the  election  had  come  on  a  fortnight  later 
Upham  would  have  carried  it.  As  it  is,  both  Senate  and  House  will 
have  majorities  of  Jacksonians.  It  is  not  certain,  however,  that 
Woodbury  or  (in  case  of  his  being  otherwise  provided  for)  Hill  will 
be  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  It  is  quite  possible 
that  some  other  Jackson  man  may  step  in  before  them 

Yours  as  ever, 

J.  M. 

JOSEPH  STORY  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

CAMBRIDGE,  May  6,  1831. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  returned  home  on  Wednesday,  having  had  an  un 
usually  short  term  at  Portland.  On  my  return  I  found  my  young 
est  daughter  (Louisa),  very  ill  of  the  throat  distemper  and  scarlet 
fever.  She  has  been  very  dangerously  ill,  and  is  not  yet  deemed  by 
her  physician  out  of  danger,  although  he  encourages  us  to  hope  she 
may  recover.  Her  fate  must  be  decided  in  a  few  days.  Whether  I 
shall  be  able  to  attend  the  circuit  court  at  Portsmouth,  is  wholly  un 
certain.  Under  existing  circumstances  I  cannot  leave  home,  (331) 
and  indeed,  I  am  myself  obliged  from  her  critical  state  to  be  day 
and  night  in  her  room. 

If  a  decidedly  favorable  change  should  take  place  before  Sunday 
evening,  I  shall  go  from  Boston  in  the  mail-stage  of  that  evening  for 
Portsmouth.  If  there  is  not  such  a  change,  it  will  be  quite  impos 
sible  for  me  to  give  my  attendance.  I  must  beg  the  favor  of  you  to 
communicate  the  facts  to  Judge  Harvey,  whom  I  have  not  the  pleasure 
of  knowing.  He  can  do  with  the  business  of  the  court  exactly  as  he 
may  deem  most  convenient.  I  exceedingly  regret  this  occurrence  on 
many  accounts ;  and  am  now  so  exhausted  by  continual  watchings  that 
I  can  scarcely  hold  my  pen. 

Believe  me  very  truly  and  affectionately  yours, 

JOSEPH  STORY. 


1.     JEREMIAH  SMITH.  3,  ,  h^KRY'  ^E£.:  ;,*  •*,  :  ; 

2      JAMES  KENT. 

4.     CHRISTOPHER  GORE.  5.     FISHER  AMES. 

6.     BUSHROD  WASHINGTON.  8.     DANIEL  D.  TOMPKINS. 

7.     JONATHAN  TRUMBULL. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  323 

JOSEPH  STORY  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

CAMBRIDGE,  May  9,  1831. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — The  event  which  my  thought  foreboded,  has  oc 
curred.  My  dear  little  daughter  died  this  morning.  We  are  in  utter 
despair;  and  I  am  incapable  of  leaving  home,  from  mental  exhaus 
tion,  even  if  it  were  otherwise  possible.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
acts  of  1789  and  1794,  to  which  you  have  referred,  cover  the  case. 
The  words  come  completely  up  to  the  case.  The  marshal  should 
therefore  adjourn  the  court  from  day  to  day  for  the  four  days,  and 
then  to  the  next  term.  I  can  say  no  more.  I  am  desolate  beyond  ex 
pression.  You  and  Mrs.  Mason  have  met  with  a  like  calamity,  and 
can  pity  and  sympathize  with  us.  God  bless  and  preserve  you  and 
yours. 

I  am  most  affectionately  your  friend, 

JOSEPH  STORY. 

(332) 
JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  May  23,  1831. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — When  I  lately  intruded  on  you  with  a  letter  of 
business,  I  had  no  apprehension  of  the  melancholy  event  which  had 
involved  you  in  such  heartrending  distress.  I  am  fully  aware  how 
idle  would  be  the  attempt  to  mitigate  your  and  Mrs.  Story's  suffer 
ings,  from  your  late  bereavement,  by  any  consolation  that  I  can  im 
part.  I  still  feel  a  strong  inclination  to  let  you  know  that  we  most 
sincerely  sympathize  and  condole  with  you.  Parental  affection  is  the 
most  uniform  as  well  as  the  strongest  of  any  that  our  nature  is 
capable  of.  I  have  never  known  any  grief  to  equal  that  of  parents 
from  the  loss  of  children.  The  death  of  an  interesting  child  in  the 
early  bloom  of  life,  blasts  all  flattering  hopes,  and  implants  a  wound 
that  seems  remediless.  Philosophy  and  religion,  with  the  aid  of 
time,  may  assuage  the  suffering.  The  chief  consolation  must  come 
from  hopes  which  religion  furnishes.  In  truth  without  these  hopes 
life,  checkered  and  clouded  as  it  is  by  the  constant  occurrence  of  such 
distressing  events,  would  not  be  worth  possessing.  And  this,  I  think, 
constitutes  one  of  the  most  solid  foundations  of  those  hopes.  It  seems 

—22 


324  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

inconsistent  with  the  wisdom  and  benevolence  of  God,  that  beings 
so  intelligent  as  our  race,  should  have  been  created,  for  the  sole  end 
of  what  we  do  and  suffer  in  this  world. 

Mrs.  Mason  with  her  love  to  Mrs.  Story,  desires  me  to  express 
her  deep  sympathy  in  your  affliction. 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  sincere  friend, 

J.  MASON. 

JOSEPH  STORY  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

CAMBRIDGE,  May  25,  1831. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for  your  kind  and 
consoling  letter.  Mrs.  Story  and  myself  have  been  indeed  exceedingly 
(333)  wretched.  The  calamity  which  has  befallen  us,  was  so  sudden 
and  awful,  that  it  sunk  us  into  utter  despair.  Our  dear  little  daugh 
ter  was  in  our  eyes,  one  of  the  most  lovely  and  perfect  of  human 
beings,  and  we  really  idolized  her.  Her  death  has  made  everything 
about  us  desolate.  I  am  myself  now  quite  calm,  having  mastered  the 
struggles  of  my  first  feelings.  At  first  I  was  unable  to  offer  any 
resistance,  and  buried  my  thoughts  in  solitude  and  silence.  The 
duties  of  my  office  have  recalled  me  to  the  business  of  life,  and  this 
has  for  a  part  of  every  day  relieved  me  from  the  burden  of  my  own 
personal  griefs.  Indeed,  there  can  be  but  two  sources  of  relief  in 
cases  of  parental  bereavement.  The  one  is  employment,  which 
diverts  our  thoughts ;  the  other  is  religion,  which  soothes  them  into 
confidence  and  hope.  I  have  a  firm  confidence  in  the  goodness  of 
God,  and  in  his  parental  mercy  and  wisdom,  though  it  is  utterly 
mysterious  to  me.  I  ought  not  to  doubt  that  it  is  all  for  the  best,  and 
I  confess,  that  but  for  the  hopes  of  a  glorious  immortality,  and  re 
union  with  departed  friends,  I  should  sink  into  total  despair.  This 
furnishes  the  only  means  by  which  I  am  able  to  reconcile  the 
melancholy  events  of  this  life  with  any  notions  of  a  just  and  benef- 
ficent  Providence.  Mrs.  Story  remains  quite  feeble  and  desponding. 
She  is  however  calm  and  tranquil,  but  extremely  gloomy.  I  have  felt 
a  good  deal  of  anxiety  on  her  account,  but  I  trust  that  time  will  bring 
the  usual  alleviations,  and  by  removing  the  images  of  the  past,  enable 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  325 


us  both  to  partake  of  the  common  blessings  of  society.  As  for  hap 
piness,  I  confess  that  I  have  little  expectation  that  we  shall,  or  can 
ever  feel  it  again  as  we  have  been  accustomed  to  do.  There  will  be  a 
darkness  in  our  minds  that  must  forever  shade  every  earthly  prospect. 

Mrs.  Story  sends  her  love  to  Mrs.  Mason,  and  I  beg  to  be  most 
kindly  remembered  to  her  and  the  family. 

Believe  me  most  truly  and  affectionately  your  friend, 

JOSEPH  STORY. 

(334) 
JOSEPH  STORY  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

CAMBRIDGE,  November  19,  1831. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  copy  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Resolutions,  which  you  have  sent  me,  and  for 
the  minutes  of  your  argument  in  defense  of  them.  The  former  I 
shall  place  at  large  in  a  note  to  my  lectures  on  Constitutional  Law ; 
the  latter  I  shall  incorporate  as  far  as  I  may  into  my  text.  Docu 
ments  of  this  sort  are  becoming  more  and  more  valuable  every  day. 
I  am  just  returned  from  Rhode  Island,  where  I  had  very  little  busi 
ness  of  an  important  nature.  Just  at  the  moment  of  my  departure 
from  home,  I  received  a  letter  from  the  Chief  Justice,  stating  that 
his  health  Was  so  much  better  that  he  expected  to  return  home  the 
next  (now  past)  week.  If  I  had  not  received  this  letter,  as  the  weath 
er  was  favorable  and  my  health  much  restored,  I  believe  that  I  should 
have  ventured  on  to  Philadelphia.  I  am  now  engaged  on  the  Charles 
River  Bridge  Case.  After  it  is  finished,  I  should  be  glad  to  have  you 
read  it  over,  if  I  thought  it  might  not  give  you  too  much  trouble.  It 
is  so  important  a  constitutional  question,  that  I  am  anxious  that 
some  other  mind  should  see,  what  the  writer  rarely  can  in  his  zeal, 
whether  there  is  any  weak  point  which  can  be  fortified  or  ought  to  be 
abandoned.  The  general  structure  of  the  argument  I  hope  is  sound. 
But  all  the  details  may  not  be. 

I  send  you  a  copy  of  my  Mount  Auburn  address,  of  which  I  beg 
your  acceptance ;  and  also  a  printed  copy  of  the  lines  which  I  promised 
Mrs.  Mason.  With  my  kind  regards  to  all  the  family, 

I  am  very  truly  your  affectionate  friend, 

JOSEPH  STORY. 


326  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  JOSEPH  STORY. 

PORTSMOUTH,  November  24,  1831. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  received  your  letter  with  your  Mount 
Auburn  address  and  the  elegy,  which  we  had  before  seen  and  read 
(335)  with  much  interest.  I  am  much  pleased  with  the  address.  You 
have  certainly  executed  a  task  of  considerable  difficulty  with  much 
success.  I  will  most  willingly  examine  your  opinion  on  the  case  you 
mention,  and  give  you  the  result  of  my  reflections  on  it.  I  am  exceed 
ingly  rejoiced  that  the  Chief  Justice3  is  doing  so  well.  I  trust  and 
hope  in  divine  mercy  that  his  life  and  strength  may  be  continued  till 
the  danger  to  the  judiciary  from  the  present  dynasty  shall  have  pass 
ed  away.  I  cannot  refrain  from  communicating  to  you  in  confidence 
a  matter  of  great  importance  to  myself,  in  which  your  kindness  has 
led  you  to  express  an  interest.  I  have  come  to  a  determination  to 
remove  to  Boston,  next  spring.  In  preparation  for  it,  when  at  Boston 
a  few  days  ago,  I  purchased  a  house  near  that  of  my  friend  Mr.  Law 
rence.  Whether  this  resolution  will  be  for  the  better  or  worse,  time 
only  can  resolve.  For  special  reasons  I  wish  nothing  said  of  it  at 
present.  Mrs.  Mason  and  my  family  desire  their  kindest  regards  to 
yourself  and  Mrs.  Story. 

With  great  esteem  I  am,  as  ever,  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

JOSEPH  STORY  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

CAMBRIDGE,  December  23,  1831. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Owing  to  my  recent  illness,  from  which  I  am 
now,  as  I  trust  entirely  recovered,  the  preparation  of  my  opinion  in 
the  Charles  River  Bridge  Case  was  suspended.  I  have  just  completed 

a  "If  we  read  Marshall's  opinions  in  the  four  great  cases  interpreting  the 
Constitution,  Marbury  v.  Virginia,  McCulloch  v.  Maryland,  Gibbons  v.  Ogden, 
and  Cohen  v.  Virginia,  we  will  see  that  the  great  issue  involved  was  interpreted 
according  to  its  evident  meaning,  —  the  important  part  of  the  same  decided; 
while  we  may  have  some  doubt  in  regard  to  the  minor  matters  treated,  we  will 
not  have  to  the  correctness  of  his  conclusions  on  questions  of  first  importance. 
Thus  in  Marbury  v.  Madison,  we  may  doubt  whether  the  appointment  to  a  Fed 
eral  office  is  complete  until  the  appointee's  commission  is  delivered  to  him,  but  not 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  327 


it;  and  it  is  to  be  copied,  and  I  hope  to  send  it  to  you  by  the  middle 
of  the  next  week.  If  you  should  have  examined  it  sufficiently  to  give 
your  opinion,  I  should  be  glad  to  receive  it  before  I  go  to  Washington, 
which  will  be  by  Sunday  the  2d  of  January.  If  not  I  will  thank  you 
to  send  it  to  me  by  mail  at  Washington.  I  wish  to  make  some  remarks 
to  explain  its  great  length,  and  the  repetition  of  the  same  suggestions 
in  different  parts  of  the  same  opinion.  I  have  written  my  opinion  in 
the  hope  of  meeting  the  doubts  of  some  of  the  brethren,  which  are 
various  and  apply  to  different  (336)  aspects  of  the  case.  To  accom 
plish  my  object,  I  felt  compelled  to  deal  with  each  argument  separate 
ly,  and  answer  it  in  every  form,  since  the  objections  of  one  mind  were 
different  from  those  of  another.  One  of  the  most  formidable  objec 
tions  is  the  rule  that  royal  grants,  etc.,  are  to  be  strictly  construed. 
Another  is  against  implications  in  legislative  grants;  another  is 
against  monopolies.  Another  is  that  franchises  of  this  sort  are  bound 
ed  by  local  limits ;  another  that  the  construction  contended  for  will  bar 
all  public  improvements.  I  have  been  compelled,  therefore,  to  re-state 

of  the  duty  of  the  judiciary  to  disregard  constitutional  legislation;  in  McCulloch 
V.  Maryland,  we  may  question  the  correctness  of  the  assertion  that  the  power  to 
tax  is  the  power  to  destroy,  but  not  of  the  power  of  the  Federal  Government  to 
create  a  corporation  as  a  means  of  executing  one  of  the  enumerated  powers;  in 
Gibbons  V.  Ogden,  we  may  think,  in  spite  of  Marshall's  opinion  to  the  contrary, 
that  the  legislation  of  Congress  and  of  the  State  of  New  York  were  not  in  con 
flict,  but  we  will  not  dispute  the  correctness  of  the  definition  of  the  scope  of  the 
Federal  power  over  commerce;  while  in  Cohen  v.  Virginia,  as  the  Court  confines 
itself  to  the  single  question  of  the  jurisdiction,  we  will  accept  Marshall's  argu 
ment  in  all  its  parts  as  sound.  This  ability  to  take  a  legal  question  on  which  a 
large  number  of  persons  have  preconceived  opinions,  the  product  of  their  politi 
cal  prejudices,  analyze  it  in  all  its  parts  in  such  a  way  that  the  conclusion  reached 
is  admitted  by  the  great  majority  of  each  successive  generation  of  students  to  be 
inevitable,  is  the  best  test  of  Marshall."  —  2  Great  American  Lawyers,  374-5,— 
Art.  "Marshall,"  by  Wm.  Draper  Lewis. 

As  to  Marshall's  reasoning  powers,  Judge  Jos.  Story  tells  the  following: 
"Mr.  Samuel  Dexter  was  once  in  company  with  Fisher  Ames  and  Chief  Justice 
Marshall.  The  latter  comimenced  a  conversation,  or  rather  an  opinion  (for  he 
was  almost  solus  in  the  dialogue)  which  lasted  some  three  hours.  On  breaking 
up,  the  two  former  commenced  on  their  way  homeward,  praising  the  depth  and 
learning  of  their  noble  host.  Said  Ames,  after  a  short  talk,  'to  confess  the  truth, 
Dexter,  I  have  not  understood  a  word  of  his  argument  for  half  an  hour.'  'And 
P,  good  humoredly  rejoined  Dexter,  'have  been  out  of  my  depth  for  an  hour  and 
a  half.'  " — 2  Story's  Life  and  Letters,  504. 


328  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


the  arguments  in  different  connections.  I  have  done  so  hoping  in  this 
way  to  gain  allies.  I  should  otherwise  have  compressed  my  opinion 
within  half  the  limits. 

Believe  me  very  truly  and  affectionately  yours, 

JOSEPH  STORY. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

BOSTON,  May  27,  1832. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Letters  from  Washington,  stating  the  unanimity 
of  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  on  manufactures, 
with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Barbour,  in  reporting  a  bill  in  accordance 
with  the  views  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  have  created  great 
alarm.  Those  best  informed  on  the  subject,  are  united  in  opinion, 
that  such  a  bill  if  passed,  will  prove  fatal  to  the  woolen  manufacturers. 
They  think  that  no  rate  of  ad  valorem  duties  can  be  safely  substituted 
for  the  minimum  duties.  While  the  foreign  woolen  trade  shall  con 
tinue  in  the  hands  of  foreigners,  and  often  the  manufacturers,  who 
can  readily  furnish  such  inventories  and  other  evidence  of  the  cost 
of  the  articles  imported,  as  they  please,  no  vigilance  in  the  custom 
house  officers  could  detect  and  prevent  frauds.  Under  the  present 
administration,  it  cannot  be  expected  that  much  pains  will  be  taken 
to  prevent  known  frauds.  The  best  conducted  woolen  factories  have 
been  maintained  with  great  difficulty.  Taken  altogether,  they  have 
probably  since  1824,  been  a  loss  (337)  to  their  owners,  equal  to  the 
amount  of  the  interest  of  the  money  employed  in  them.  The  one  I 
till  lately  was  interested  in,  proved  much  worse  than  this ;  there  was 
a  loss  besides  interest,  of  a  part  of  the  capital.  Increased  skill  now 
affords  better  prospects.  But  the  present  bill,  if  enacted,  will  I  think, 
turn  many  of  them  into  cotton  factories,  and  cause  others  to  be 
abandoned. 

The  woolen  manufactory  directly  interests  a  larger  portion 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States  than  any  other.  All  the  wool 
growers  are  directly  interested.  If  this  be  sacrificed,  what  ground  of 
hope  can  there  be  that  other  branches,  less  important,  and  not  so 
directly  affecting  the  interests  of  great  numbers,  will  not  successively 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  329 


experience  the  same  fate.  It  seems  now  to  be  better  understood  than 
formerly,  that  the  ruin  of  one  branch  of  industry  or  one  kind  of 
property,  must  unavoidably  disturb  and  injure  all  the  rest. 

I  thought  the  New  York  convention  took  the  only  safe  ground, 
which  was  to  defend  the  whole  system.  This  unites  all  its  friends. 
It  must  be  defended  on  this  ground  or  not  at  all.  Alterations  and 
modifications  not  materially  affecting  the  principle  of  protection,  are 
of  course  to  be  admitted.  Let  the  wool  growers  and  woolen  manu 
facturers  be  now  sacrificed,  and  it  is  idle  for  the  cotton  manufacturers 
to  expect  when  attacked,  to  have  their  aid.  The  only  security  is  in 
the  union  of  all  the  friends  of  the  protection  system.  For  this  end 
all  the  interests  must  be  faithfully  protected.  The  whole  line  must 
be  protected  or  the  battle  will  be  lost. 

Besides,  I  do  not  see  what  is  to  be  gained  by  yielding  up  this 
essential  part  of  the  system.  As  I  understand  the  case,  the  enemies 
of  the  protection  of  manufacturers  deny  that  government  has  the 
right  to  attempt  it.  This  is  certainly  the  ground  assumed  by  their 
leaders,  and  a  dissolution  of  the  union  is  threatened  as  the  penalty  for 
the  exercise  of  this  right.  The  right  is  not,  in  the  opinion  of  a  vast 
majority  of  the  nation,  of  a  doubtful  nature.  To  attain  it  was  cer 
tainly  among  the  chief  inducements  to  form  the  government.  A  great 
majority  deem  the  exercise  of  it  essential  to  their  welfare;  and,  as 
far  as  it  has  been  exercised,  the  results  have  been  eminently  (338) 
successful.  Immense  interests  are  involved.  Under  such  circum 
stances,  to  yield  a  part,  in  hopes  of  appeasing  the  violence  of  the 
opposers,  seems  to  me  to  be  an  indication  of  weakness  and  folly.  This 
yielding  will  not  satisfy  or  appease  your  opponents,  but  encourage 
them  to  reiterated  assaults  till  the  whole  system  shall  be  abandoned. 
It  will  be  early  enough  to  yield  a  part  and  to  modify  when  there  shall 
be  reasonable  ground  to  expect  that  the  doing  so  will  produce  satisfac 
tion  and  lessen  the  violence  of  opposition.  I  do  not  believe  that 
yielding  at  the  present  time  would  produce  that  effect.  On  the  con 
trary,  I  think  it  would  encourage  opposition  and  increase  its  violence. 
Such  is  ordinarily  the  effect  of  yielding  to  unprovoked  and  unjusti 
fiable  threats.  I  would  do  nothing  to  increase  the  hopes  of  the 
Southern  States  that  the  exercise  of  the  power  in  question  would  be 
abandoned.  The  due  exercise  of  it  is  in  my  opinion  not  only  essential 


330  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


to  the  welfare  of  the  country,  but  to  the  very  existence  of  the  Union ; 
without  it  the  government  would  not  be  worth  preserving,  and  such, 
I  believe,  would  on  trial,  be  found  to  be  the  opinion  of  all  the  North 
ern  and  Eastern  States.  The  abandonment  of  the  exercise  of  this 
power  would  immediately  overwhelm  New  England  with  poverty  and 
ruin. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  calculate  the  effect  of  the  passing  of  this  bill 
on  the  approaching  presidential  election.  In  process  of  time,  I  have 
no  doubt  it  would  render  its  advocates  unpopular  and  odious.  But  as 
the  operation  of  it  is  probably  suspended  to  a  future  day,  the  effects 
would  not  be  felt  by  the  people  till  after  the  election  will  be  over.  If 
anything  less  than  public  suffering  and  calamity  can  awaken  the  peo 
ple  to  a  sense  of  their  true  interests,  it  would  seem  that  the  unprin 
cipled  conduct  and  mischievous  attempts  of  the  present  administra 
tion  would  do  it. 

General  Jackson  has  sufficiently  explained  what  he  means  by  a 
judicious  tariff. 

A  number  of  gentlemen,  and  Mr.  A.  Lawrencea  among  the  rest, 
(339)  are  about  setting  out  for  Washington  to  explain  and  enforce 
their  views  on  the  pending  measure. 

I  am  as  ever,  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  June  23,  1832. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  duly  received  your  letter,  ten  days  ago.  Mr. 
Biddle,  when  he  wrote  you,  requested  me  to  send  you  copies  of  the 
Reports,  which  I  promised  to  do;  but  in  truth,  I  had  none  to  send, 

a  Abbott  Lawrence,  (1792-1855,)  American  merchant,  legislator  and  diplo 
matist,  younger  brother  of  Amos  Lawrence.  Born  at  Groton,  Mass.,  and  educated 
there.  Became  a  partner  of  his  brother  Amos  (1814)  in  the  dry-goods  business, 
in  Boston,  taking  a  prominent  part  later  in  building  Up  American  manufacturers. 
The  City  of  Lawrence,  Mass.,  is  the  result  of  his  activities.  He  donated  also  the 
money  which  founded  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School,  at  Harvard.  He  filled  sev 
eral  public  offices,  including  those  of  United  States  Congressmen,  1835-7,  and 
1839-40,  Commissioner  for  the  settlement  of  the  Northeast  Boundary  question 
with  Great  Britain,  1842,  and  that  of  Minister  to  Great  Britain,  1849. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  331 


nor  did  we  any  of  us  get  more  than  one  copy,  until  two  days  ago, 
when  Mr.  Bell,  as  he  informs  me,  sent  you  one.  I  have  to-day  receiv 
ed  your  second  letter,  and  it  has  caused  me  to  finish  a  duty  which  I 
commenced  yesterday,  that  is,  to  write  you  on  the  subject  of  your  first. 
I  have  reflected  a  good  deal,  and  spoken  to  several  friends,  Mr.  Bell, 
Mr.  Clay,  Mr.  A.  Lawrence/1  and  others,  as  to  the  necessity  which 
the  "Globe"  may  be  supposed  to  have  imposed  on  you  to  answer  its 
slanders.  On  the  whole,  the  result  of  opinion  is,  that  there  is  no  im 
mediate  occasion  for  your  appearance  in  print.  The  abuse  of  the 
"Globe,"  on  this  point,  will  hardly  affect  the  interest  or  fate  of  the 
bank,  in  its  present  crisis,  and  if  it  should,  its  mischief  would  be  ac 
complished  before  your  statement  could  appear.  My  own  impression 
is,  that  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  let  the  question  go  which 
way  it  may,  it  will  be  expedient  for  you,  at  your  leisure,  to  make  a 
suitable  publication,  and  think  it  may  probably  be  expected.  No 
doubt,  the  authority  on  which  the  "Globe"  proceeds,  is  Mr.  Wood- 
bury,  Mr.  Hill,  Mr.  Hubbard,  etc.,  etc.,  or  some  of  them.  In  the  House 
of  Representatives  the  Tariff  Bill  will  probably  be  passed  or  rejected 
to-day.  I  know  not  which.  If  it  come  here,  we  shall  try  first,  to 
amend,  and  second,  if  we  cannot  amend,  to  postpone  the  whole  sub 
ject.  Our  majority  at  best  will  be  small  and  feeble.  Party  absorbs 
everything.  New  York  (her  politicians)  are  obviously  willing  to  sell 
the  tariff,  or  anything  (340)  else,  for  the  sake  of  making  Mr.  V.  B." 
Vice  President.  We  shall  know  in  a  few  days  what  the  end  is  to  be. 
The  House  of  Representatives  will  probably  take  up  the  Bank  Bill, 
Monday  or  Tuesday.  I  think  it  will  pass  that  house,  but  the  prevail 
ing  impression  is,  that  the  President  will  return  the  bill  with  his 
objections. 

Yours  truly, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

(341) 

a  Abbott  Lawrence. 

b  Van  Buren  was  known  as  "A  Northern  man  with  Southern  principles," 
and  on  account  of  his  political  influence,  was  called  the  "Little  Magician."  He 
was  not  an  orator,  but  his  more  important  speeches  show  careful  preparation  and 
his  opinions  carried  weight.  His  early  practice  made  him  financially  independent, 
and  paved  the  way  for  his  entrance  into  politics.  He  was  an  early  disciple  of 
the  Clintons,  Robt.  R.  Livingston  and  Aaron  Burr,  and  later  of  Andrew  Jackson. 


332  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  a  member  of  the  Court  of  Errors,  the 
highest  Court  in  New  York,  until  1847,  Attorney-General  of  New  York  for  four 
years  (1815-19),  U.  S.  Senator,  1821-28,  when  elected  Governor;  also  previous  to 
this  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  State  Convention;  resigned  the  governor 
ship  in  1829,  to  become  Secretary  of  State  under  Jackson;  appointed  Minister  to 
England  in  1831,  but  was  not  confirmed  by  the  Senate;  Vice-President  with  Jack 
son,  1833-37,  and  President  of  United  States  1837-41.  Immediately  after  the  ad 
mission  of  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  he  became  a  partner  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  the 
firm  was  soon  known  as  one  of  the  most  distinguished  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
not  only  for  its  influence  in  the  legal  world,  but  for  its  controlling  power  in 
politics.  One  of  the  great  secrets  of  Van  Buren's  success  was  the  discernment  he 
exercised  in  the  selection  of  his  friends  and  allies.  In  this  he  excelled  the  subtle 
ty  of  Richelieu,  Buckingham  and  Halifax.  Says  John  Fiske:  "Van  Buren  was 
the  greatest  master  of  political  economy  and  the  most  lucid  conception  was  had 
by  him  of  the  proper  sphere  of  our  government  of  all  the  presidents,  and  Shep- 
ard's  Life  of  Van  Buren  is  the  ablest  of  the  Statesmen  Series."-—!  Historical 
and  Literary  Essays,  by  Fiske,  348. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  333 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Mr.  Mason's  Life  and  Correspondence,  from  his  Removal  to  Boston  in  1832  till  his 
Death.  —  Professional  and  Social  Life  in  Boston.  —  Death  of  his  Son  James.  — 
Retirement  from  Active  Professional  Labor.  —  Declining  Years.  —  Death  and 
Character. 

In  1832  an  important  event  took  place  in  Mr.  Mason's  life :  he  re 
moved  his  residence  from  Portsmouth  to  Boston.  This  was  a  change 
he  had  long  had  under  consideration,  and  he  did  not  come  to  a  de 
cision  without  a  careful  weighing  of  the  arguments  for  and  against  it. 
He  was  then  sixty-four  years  old,  and  he  was  too  wise  a  man  not  to 
know  that,  in  general,  it  is  not  expedient  to  change  either  residence 
or  occupation  after  the  age  of  sixty.  But  there  were  reasons  which 
made  his  case  an  exception  to  the  general  rule. 

Portsmouth  had  been  for  many  years  a  stationary,  and  had  begun 
to  be  a  declining  town.  The  source  of  its  former  growth  and  pros 
perity  had  been  dried  up  by  the  general  pacification  of  Europe  in 
1815.  The  productive  energy  and  enterprise  of  New  England,  once 
so  profitably  occupied  in  foreign  commerce,  the  carrying  trade  and 
shipbuilding,  were  now  largely  diverted  to  manufactures,  and  for 
these,  Portsmouth,  so  rich  in  facilities  for  commerce  and  shipbuild 
ing,  had  no  especial  advantages.  The  professional  business  which 
Mr.  Mason  drew  from  Portsmouth  itself  was  rather  diminished  than 
enlarged.  His  labors  were  not  lessening,  and  his  income  was  not 
increasing.  And  he  was  now  getting  to  be  an  old  (342)  man,  and  age 
is  not  locomotive.  His  frequent  journeys  on  professional  business 
calls,  and  his  long  absences  from  home,  were  growing  more  and  more 
irksome  to  him.  Were  he  in  Boston,  his  practice  would  be  in  that  city 
or  its  immediate  neighborhood.  His  name  and  face  were  well  known 


334  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


in  the  courts  of  Massachusetts,  and  his  professional  reputation  was 
as  high  in  Boston  as  in  Portsmouth.  He  had  every  reason  to  be 
lieve  that  in  the  metropolis  of  New  England  the  practice  of  his  pro 
fession  would  be  at  once  less  laborious  and  more  lucrative  than  in 
Portsmouth.  And  in  a  social  point  of  view  he  had  more  to  gain 
than  to  lose  by  the  change.  Though  there  were  many  families  in 
Portsmouth  to  whom  he  and  his  were  strongly  attached,  yet  his 
earliest  and  most  intimate  friends,  such  as  Judge  Story,  Mr.  Web 
ster,  Mr.  Ticknor,  Mr.  Amos  Lawrence,a  and  Mr.  Abbot  Lawrence, 
were  all  in  Boston,  or  its  immediate  vicinity;  and  it  was  much  to 
him  to  exchange  the  occasional  and  imperfect  intercourse  by  letter 
for  the  full  and  free  communion  of  speech.  And  there  were  yet 
stronger  attractions  than  those  of  friendship  drawing  him  to  Bos 
ton,  for  his  son,  James,  was  established  there  in  business  as  a  partner 
in  the  house  of  J.  W.  Paige  &  Co.,  and  another  son,  Charles,  was  just 
about  to  enter  Harvard  College. 

It  is  probable — though  no  intimation  of  the  kind  appears  in  his 
correspondence — that  Mr.  Mason's  annoying  experiences  as  presi 
dent  of  the  Branch  Bank  of  the  United  States  in  Portsmouth,  as 
told  in  the  preceding  chapter,  formed  the  weight  which  at  last 
turned  the  doubtful  scale.  He  was  not  a  sensitive  man;  his  frame 
and  spirit  were  alike  too  robust  for  that;  but  he  was  not  indif 
ferent  to  the  good-will  of  his  neighbors,  and  his  was  one  of  those 
natures  which  feel  more  than  they  express.  It  pained  and  doubt 
less  surprised  him,  that  among  his  townsmen  and  neighbors  there 
was  a  certain  amount  of  dormant  unfriendliness  which  took  shape 
and  utterance  in  an  unreasonable  opposition  to  his  official  course  as 
president  of  the  branch  bank.  The  source  of  this  unkindly  feeling 
may  be  found  in  certain  touches  of  nature  which  make  the  whole 
world  kin.  (343) 

a  Amos  Lawrence  (1786-1852),  American  merchant,  was  born  at  Groton, 
Mass.,  and  after  education  there,  went  to  Boston,  1807,  engaged  in  the  dry-goods 
business,  receiving  into  the  partnership  in  1814,  his  younger  brother,  Abbott. 
They  conducted  the  business  with  great  success.  The  firm  was  instrumental  in 
developing  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods  in  the  United  States,  and  started  a 
factory  of  their  own  in  Lowell,  in  1830.  During  his  life  he  gave  away  $639,000 
for  educational  and  charitable  purposes,  —  $10,000  for  the  completion  of  Bunker 
Hill  Monument. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  335 


Mr.  Mason  was  a  great  man  in  a  small  town.  In  intellectual 
force  there  was  no  one  equal  to  him,  and  no  one  second  to  him. 
But  some  men  bear  with  impatience  the  sway  of  an  understanding 
superior  to  their  own;  and  thus,  while  he  had  the  respect  of  all, 
while  he  had  many  warm  friends,  there  were  some  who  feared  him 
and  some  who  envied  him.  He  had  not  the  character  or  the  man 
ners  which  make  men  popular.  He  never  angled  for  the  good 
opinion  of  others.  Conscious  of  his  strength,  and  careless  of  conse 
quences,  he  never  suppressed  what  he  thought,  and  never  uttered 
what  he  did  not  think.  He  read  men  with  a  sharp  and  penetrating 
glance.  No  form  of  weakness  could  escape  him ;  and  for  such  weak 
ness  as  took  the  form  of  vanity  or  pretention  he  had  an  intolerant 
contempt,  which  he  took  no  pains  to  conceal.  He  always  spoke  his 
mind  with  great  freedom.  His  powers  of  sarcasm  were  great;  he 
said  pointed  and  pregnant  things  which  were  forgotten  by  himself, 
but  never  by  those  against  whom  they  were  directed.  Men  who  are 
universally  popular,  of  whom  everybody  speaks  well,  usually  have 
in  their  characters  something  of  weakness,  or  something  of  insin 
cerity;  and  the  kind  of  unfriendliness  which  Mr.  Mason  called  forth 
was  really  a  tribute  to  his  intellectual  force  and  the  manliness  of  his 
nature. 

The  final  parting  was  less  hard  to  him  than  to  Mrs.  Mason,  whose 
sweet  and  gentle  character  awakened  nothing  but  good-will,  and  who 
Was  attached  to  the  home  where  she  had  so  long  lived  by  innumer 
able  memories  of  kindness  and  sympathy,  alike  in  joy  and  sorrow, 
on  the  part  of  her  friends  and  neighbors. 

But  when  the  change  was  made,  and  they  were  established,  neith 
er  he  nor  his  family  found  any  occasion  to  regret  the  step  that  had 
been  taken.  Indeed,  if  there  were  any  regret,  it  was  that  the  re 
moval  had  been  so  long  postponed.  Had  he  come  to  Boston  when  he 
left  the  Senate  in  1817,  it  would  have  been  a  wise  measure.  He  would 
have  worked  less  hard,  earned  more  money,  and  had  a  wider  range 
and  higher  class  of  social  enjoyment. 

As  it  was,  he  found  all  his  expectations  more  than  met.    He  was 

(344) 

received  by  his  professional  brethren  with  cordial  welcome  and  by 
none  could  his  learning  and  power  have  been  more  thoroughly  ap- 


336  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


predated  than  by  the  able  bar  which  Boston  then  had,  comprising 
such  men  as  Webster,  Hubbard,  Dexter,  Choate,  Rand,  Fletcher, 
Charles  G.  Loring,  and  Charles  P.  Curtis,  to  say  nothing  of  the  living. 
And  he  could  not  fail  to  count  it  among  the  great  felicities  of  his 
new  position  that  he  was  to  argue  cases  before  a  court  presided  over 
by  so  great  a  lawyer  and  magistrate  as  Chief  Justice  Shaw.3  He 
found  his  time  fully  employed  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  both 
as  chamber  counsel,  and  as  senior  counsel  in  the  conduct  of  causes ; 
and  in  both  capacities,  the  interests  intrusted  to  him  were  of  great 
magnitude,  and  the  legal  questions  were  of  a  kind  worthy  of  his 
powers.  His  written  opinions  were  especially  sought  in  the  con 
struction  of  wills,  and  in  the  solution  of  difficult  problems  in  the  law 
of  real  property,  and  frequently  too  in  nice  points  of  commercial 
law,  and  in  constitutional  law.  I  have  before  me  at  this  moment  a 

a  "It  has  been  my  fortune  in  the  course  of  a  professional  life  of  more  than 
forty  years,  to  practice  before  some  very  distinguished  judges,  but  I  cannot  men 
tion  the  name  of  Chief  Justice  Shaw  without  saying  that,  in  all  the  qualities 
which  make  a  great  magistrate  —  in  strength  of  intellect,  in  depth  of  mental 
vision,  in  comprehensive  grasp  of  every  question,  however  difficult,  that  came  be 
fore  him,  in  application  to  it  of  the  appropriate  learning,  and  in  the  unquestion 
able-poise  in  which  he  held  the  scales  of  Justice,  until  one  or  the  other  ought  to 
predominate,  I  have  known  no  man  who  was  his  superior.  Chief  Justice  Marshall 
I  never  saw;  Chancellor  Kent  I  never  saw  upon  the  bench,  although  I  once  met 
him  in  private  life.  But  when  I  name  Taney,  Story,  Nelson  and  Curtis,  as  among 
the  judges  before  whom  it  has  been  more  or  less  my  lot  to  appear,  and  recall 
many  others  of  deserved  distinction  in  different  States  of  whom  I  have  had  per 
sonal  observation,  it  will,  perhaps,  be  allowed  that  my  estimate  of  Shaw  as  a 
judge,  unimportant  as  it  is  to  his  fame,  has  not  been  formed  without  sufficient 
opportunities  of  comparison  with  men  of  note  and  mark.  There  have,  doubtless, 
been  judges  who  would  be  called  more  learned,  or  possessed  more  learning  in 
special  departments  of  the  law,  but  no  one  ever  knew  Chief  Justice  Shaw  to  fail 
in  the  knowledge  and  application  of  the  cause  on  which  he  had  to  act.  It  is  true 
that  he  was  aided  by  a  learned  bar,  whose  presentation  of  their  cases  was  habitu 
ally  thorough.  But,  after  all  has  been  done  that  learned  advocates  can  do,  it  is 
the  office  of  the  judge  to  select,  weigh,  to  compare,  and  not  unfrequently,  before 
the  law  can  be  declared,  to  make  researches  which  counsel  have  not  made,  or  to 
draw  distinctions  which  have  not  been  drawn.  The  opinions  of  this  eminent  person 
have  always  been  received  by  the  courts  of  other  States  of  this  Union  and  in  the 
Federal  Courts  with  a  respect  that  have  not  been  less  than  phenomenal,  and  that 
have  not  been  accorded  to  those  of  any  judge  who  has  held  a  place  in  the  judicial 
history  of  any  part  of  the  country."  —  George  Ticknor  Curtis  — •  1  R.  B.  Curtis' 
Memoirs  (Note)  134. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  337 


quarto  MS.  volume,  of  three  hundred  and  forty-six  closely  written 
pages,  containing  upwards  of  fifty  opinions,  many  of  them  long  and 
elaborate,  and  all  marked  by  affluent  learning,  logical  power,  and 
a  singularly  clear  and  terse  legal  style.  The  earliest  is  of  the  date  of 
September,  1832,  and  the  latest  of  May,  1842. 

The  volumes  of  Pickering's  Reports,  from  the  fourteenth  to  the 
twenty-third  inclusive,  contain  twenty-six  cases  in  which  Mr.  Mason 
appears  as  senior  counsel,  many  of  them  of  great  magnitude  and 
importance;  and  during  the  same  period  he  was  of  counsel  in  nine 
cases,  of  a  similar  class,  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States. 
Of  course,  as  every  lawyer  knows,  a  great  deal  of  business  must  have 
been  done  by  him  which  never  resulted  in  questions  of  law  to  be 
heard  by  the  whole  court.  He  also  often  appeared  before  committees 
of  the  Legislature  when  important  legal  questions  were  under  con 
sideration,  or  large  property  interests  were  involved,  and  was  heard 
with  great  attention  and  respect. 

Mr.  Mason  found  his  social  relations  at  Boston  most  agreeable. 
He  took  a  large  and  handsome  house  on  Tremont  Street,  to  which 

(345) 

his  own  friends,  old  and  new,  and  the  friends  of  his  children,  were 
cordially  welcome.  Always  given  to  hospitality,  always  fond  of  con 
versation,  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  him  to  renew  his  intercourse  with 
his  friends  of  long  date,  such  as  Mr.  Webster  and  Judge  Story,  and 
hardly  a  less  pleasure  to  form  new  acquaintances,  and  exchange 
thoughts  with  the  fresh  and  active  minds  of  a  young  generation. 
For  he  followed  the  wise  advice  of  Dr.  Johnson,  and  kept  his  friend 
ships  in  repair.  His  heart  warmed  to  every  young  man  of  profes 
sional  or  general  promise  with  whom  he  was  brought  in  contact ;  and 

In  a  case  in  which  an  old  white-haired  man  was  a  party  before  Judge  Shaw, 
Choate  of  counsel,  gave  reign  to  his  imagination  and  quoted  a  touching  passage 
from  King  Lear.  The  Chief  raised  his  mighty,  and,  with  reverence  be  it  spoken, 
shaggy  head  and  glowered.  "Mr.  Choate,"  he  broke  out,  "this  is  a  dry  question  of 
law,  and  you  mistake  if  you  suppose  the  Supreme  Court  is  to  be  influenced  by 
any  such  considerations  as  you  appear  to  be  suggesting."  Choate  paused,  fussed 
with  his  papers,  then  murmured  just  loud  enough  to  be  audible,  enough  for  the 
tittering  bar  to  hear  him,  "the  Chief  is  not  much  of  a  lawyer,  but  what  a  polite 
and  amiable  man  he  is."  Considering  that  the  gruff  Chief  is  as  a  lawyer  worthy 
to  rank  with  Theophilus  Parsons,  the  rejoinder  was  very  sarcastic. — Parker's 
Reminiscences  of  R.  Choate,  200-1. 


338  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


many  who  were  once  young  and  are  now  old  will  recall  with  grateful 
recollection  his  frank  and  manly  kindness. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1832  that  I,  being  a  law  student,  first  saw 
Mr.  Mason.  We  met  at  the  house  of  our  common  friend,  Mr.  Tick- 
nor,  a  house  for  so  many  years  known  in  Boston  for  its  elegant 
hospitality,  and  the  cultivated  and  agreeable  society  which  gathered 
there.  Every  member  of  the  bar  and  every  law  student  in  New 
England  knew  at  least  two  things  about  him:  that  he  was  a  very 
great  lawyer  and  a  very  tall  man.  My  knowledge  of  him  went  some 
what  further,  for  I  had  often  heard  both  Mr.  Ticknor  and  Judge 
Story  speak  of  him,  the  latter  always  in  strong  admiration  of  his 
legal  attainments  and  logical  power.  I  was,  of  course,  prepared 
for  his  commanding  stature,  but  his  manner  was  not  exactly  what  I 
had  expected.  It  was  more  quiet  and  simple  than  such  as  young  men 
usually  associate  with  great  intellectual  power.  His  complexion 
was  fresh  and  healthy,  and  his  face  more  smooth  and  unwrinkled 
than  in  most  men  of  his  age.  Had  I  seen  him  without  knowing  who 
he  was,  I  should  have  taken  him  for  a  prosperous  farmer.  As  I 
glanced  from  his  face  to  that  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  a  fine  portrait 
by  Leslie  which  hung  over  the  fireplace,  I  thought  I  saw  some  re 
semblance  between  the  two.  His  voice  was  lower  and  gentler  than 
seemed  in  harmony  with  his  stately  presence.  He  used  no  gesture 
in  speaking;  there  was  nothing  peremptory  or  emphatic  in  his  tone, 
and  his  manner  was  the  reverse  of  dictatorial  or  overbearing.  I  no 
ticed  that  his  language  was  plain,  almost  homely,  and  (346)  that  his 
accent  had  a  strong  New  England  flavor.  For  both  of  these  peculiar 
ities  I  had  been  prepared. 

From  that  time  I  often  saw  Mr.  Mason,  and  nothing  could  be 
more  agreeable  than  the  intercourse  I  had  with  him.  The  fact  that 
I  had  passed  a  year  and  a  half  in  my  childhood  in  his  native  town 
of  Lebanon  seemed  to  make  a  bond  of  sympathy  between  us,  and 
led  him  to  talk  freely  of  his  own  early  life,  and  the  men  and  man 
ners  of  a  former  age.  He  was  fond  of  the  conversation  and  society 
of  young  men.  One  reason  of  this  was  that  he  was  much  given  to 
the  asking  of  questions.  This  is  a  form  of  conversational  inter 
course  which  can  only  be  cautiously  indulged  in  between  equals  in 
age  and  station,  because  it  seems  to  imply  a  relation  of  superiority 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  339 


and  inferiority.  The  conversation  between  kings  and  their  sub 
jects  is  usually  in  the  form  of  questions  and  answers.  But,  of  course, 
no  young  man  could  object  to  giving  to  a  man  of  Mr.  Mason's  age 
and  eminence  the  largest  and  freest  range  of  inquiry.  Nor  did  Mr. 
Mason  in  the  asking  of  questions  take  any  attitude  of  superiority. 
He  was — what  those  who  knew  him  slightly  did  not  suspect — a 
modest  man,  more  ready  to  disclaim  the  right  that  belonged  to  him 
than  to  assert  any  which  did  not.  If  he  asked  questions,  the  reason 
was  simply  that  he  was  all  his  life  a  keen  observer  and  student  of 
men.  No  book-worm  ever  read  books  with  more  interest  than  he 
read  men,  and  of  all  persons  I  have  ever  known  he  was  the  most 
penetrating  and  the  most  accurate  observer  of  humanity.  No  man 
ever  interpreted  more  unerringly  the  outward  signs  by  which  the  in 
ward  nature  is  revealed.  Men  stood  before  him  as  if  made  of  glass. 
And  every  new  human  being  that  he  met  was  an  object  of  special 
interest  to  him,  like  a  new  book  to  a  scholar,  or  a  fresh  specimen  to 
a  naturalist.  And  the  asking  of  questions  was  his  way  of  reading 
the  living  book. 

In  conversation  he  was  not  only  one  of  the  most  instructive  of 
men,  but  one  of  the  most  agreeable.  In  talking  with  a  young  man  he 
never  assumed  any  vantage-ground  of  age  or  eminence.  He  had  so 
much  real  power  that  he  could  afford  to  be  frank  and  simple.  (347) 
He  never  talked  down  to  a  young  man;  never  infused  any  con 
descension  into  his  manner;  never  wounded  one's  self-esteem  by 
the  trick  of  drawing  out.  He  laid  his  own  mind  fairly  alongside 
the  mind  of  the  person  he  was  talking  with.  He  had  no  occasion 
for  those  artificial  defenses  of  a  stately  manner  and  a  formal  style  of 
speech  which  weak  men  sometimes  throw  up  to  prevent  a  too  near 
approach.  In  all  my  personal  intercourse  with  him  he  was  as  frank 
and  free  as  if  we  had  been  equals  in  age.  He  told  me  many  inter 
esting  anecdotes  of  his  professional  life  and  his  experiences  at  Wash 
ington,  which  I  now  regret  that  I  did  not  record  at  the  time.  Alas, 
how  many  things  there  are  which  we  neglect  to  do  when  young,  and 
are  sorry  for  it  when  old!  He  discussed  with  great  freedom  the 
statesmen  and  lawyers  he  had  known,  and  never  spared  those  whom 
he  thought  weak  or  selfish  or  unprincipled. 

Mr.  Mason's  discourse  was  not  only  the  discourse  of  a  wise  man, 
—23 


340  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


but  it  was  seasoned  with  certain  mental  traits  not  always  found  in 
combination  with  wisdom.  He  had  a  keen  sense  of  the  ludicrous, 
and  the  quickest  discernment  of  any  weakness  that  was  a  legiti 
mate  subject  of  ridicule.  Thus  his  conversation  had  point  and 
flavor,  a  homely  vigor  and  energy,  and  a  certain  originality  both  of 
thought  and  expression.  His  memory  was  stored  with  personal 
anecdotes  and  characteristic  traits  and  incidents  illustrating  the 
peculiarities  of  the  distinguished  men  he  had  known.  He  was  a 
frank  and  courageous  talker,  never  keeping  anything  back  from 
over-cautiousness,  or  an  apprehension  that  somebody  might  think 
that  what  he  was  saying  was  not  exactly  proper  for  a  man  of  his 
age  and  position.  I  have  never  known  an  old  man  whose  conversa 
tion  had  so  much  of  youthful  spirit  as  his.  I  recall  one  or  two  in 
stances  illustrating  this  trait. 

He  told  me  once  that  when  quite  a  young  man  he  had  a  profes 
sional  conference  with  Mr.  Theophilus  Parsons,  before  the  latter 
was  made  Chief  Justice  of  Massachusetts.  Among  the  elements  in 
the  case  was  a  certain  conveyance  of  parish  land,  by  a  clergyman,  and 
its  nature  and  effect  were  under  discussion.  Mr.  Mason  suggested 
(348)  that  it  might  be  held  to  be  a  covenant  to  stand  seized.  Mr. 
Parsons  turned  to  him  quickly,  and  said:  "Mason,  I  like  that;  that 
is  a  good  idea  of  yours ;  in  the  relation  between  a  clergyman  and  his 
parish  there  is  some  analogy  to  that  between  a  man  and  his  wife." 
Mr.  Mason  went  on  to  tell  me:  "I  didn't  knowr,  or  had  forgotten, 
that  a  consideration  of  blood  or  marriage  was  necessary  to  support 
a  covenant  to  stand  seized,  but  I  said  nothing,  and  as  soon  as  I  got 
home,  I  took  down  my  books  and  began  to  study  the  subject,  and 
found  the  blood  spurting  out  between  the  very  lines  of  the  page." 

On  one  occasion  he  came  into  Mr.  Sumner's  office,  which  was 
next  to  mine,  and  found  him  engaged  in  writing  an  address  to  be 
delivered  before  a  Peace  Society.  After  a  little  good-natured  ban 
ter  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Mason,  and  an  equally  good-natured  defense 
of  his  views  by  Mr.  Sumner,  the  former,  rising  to  take  his  leave, 
said:  "Well,  Sumner,  you  may  be  right,  but  I  should  just  as  soon 
think  of  joining  a  society  for  the  suppression  of  thunder  and  light 
ning  as  a  society  for  the  suppression  of  war." 

Mr.  Mason's  correspondence,  after  his  removal  to  Boston,  de- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  341 


clined  in  extent.  This  is  the  common  experience  of  life.  Not  only  do 
the  friends  of  our  youth  and  manhood  depart  before  us,  but  the  im 
pulse  to  write  letters  grows  weaker  as  we  grow  older.  In  the  vernal 
season  of  life  man  obeys  the  general  law  which  bids  the  bird  sing 
and  the  tree  burst  into  leaf.  Youthful  friendship  seeks  expression, 
and  young  men  and  young  women  write  to  each  other  because  the 
full  heart  overflows,  and  its  waters  cover  the  page.  It  is  their  own 
satisfaction,  rather  than  the  satisfaction  of  their  correspondents 
which  moves  them.  But  in  declining  life  our  affections  flow  in  nar 
rower  and  deeper  channels.  The  frost  of  repression  locks  up  the  cur 
rents  of  the  soul  which  once  ran  so  freely.  We  think  more  but  write 
less,  and  when  we  do  write,  our  words  are  touched  with  the  finger 
of  time.  Emotions  are  like  blossoms ;  they  seem  out  of  season  in  the 
autumn.  The  line  of  the  poet,—  (349) 

"Be  his  the  natural  silence  of  old  age," 

involves  a  truth  which  all  who  have  reached  old  age  will  recognize. 
Mr.  Mason's  habitual  correspondents  had  never  been  numerous 
and  two  of  them,  Mr.  King  and  Mr.  Gore,  to  both  of  whom  he  looked 
up  with  a  peculiar  feeling  of  attachment  and  respect,  died  in  the 
same  year,  1827.  Of  his  surviving  friends,  those  whom  he  most 
valued,  Judge  Story,  Mr.  Webster,  and  Mr.  Ticknor,  were  near  at 
hand ;  and  thus,  after  1832,  most  of  his  correspondence  was  upon 
public  affairs  with  Mr.  Webster,  while  the  latter  was  in  the  discharge 
of  his  public  duties  in  Washington. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

BOSTON,  May  27,  1832. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Letters  from  Washington,  stating  the  unanim 
ity  of  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  on  manu 
factures,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Barbour,  in  reporting  a  bill  in 
accordance  with  the  views  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  have 
created  great  alarm.  Those  best  informed  on  the  subject  are  united 
in  opinion,  that  such  a  bill,  if  passed,  will  prove  fatal  to  the  woolen 
manufactures.  They  think  that  no  rate  of  ad  valorem  duties  can 
be  safely  substituted  for  the  minimum  duties.  While  the  foreign 
woolen  trade  shall  continue  in  the  hands  of  foreigners,  who  are  often 


342  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


the  manufacturers,  who  can  readily  furnish  such  inventories  and 
other  evidences  of  the  cost  of  the  articles  imported,  as  they  please, 
no  vigilance  in  the  custom-house  officers  would  detect  and  prevent 
frauds.  Under  the  present  administration,  it  cannot  be  expected  that 
much  pains  will  be  taken  to  prevent  known  frauds.  The  best  con 
ducted  woolen  factories  have  been  maintained  with  great  difficulty. 
Taken  altogether  they  have  probably  since  1824  been  a  loss  to  their 
owners,  equal  to  the  amount  of  the  interest  of  the  money  employed 
in  them.  The  one  I  till  lately  was  interested  in,  proved  much  worse 
than  this.  There  was  a  loss  besides  interest,  of  a  part  of  the  capital. 
Increased  skill  now  affords  better  prospects.  But  (350)  the  present 
bill,  if  enacted,  will,  I  think,  turn  many  of  them  into  cotton  factories, 
and  cause  others  to  be  abandoned.  The  woolen  manufactory  directly 
interests  a  larger  portion  of  the  United  States,  than  any  other.  All 
the  wool-growers  are  directly  interested.  If  this  be  sacrificed,  what 
ground  of  hope  can  there  be,  that  other  branches,  less  important  and 
not  so  directly  affecting  the  interest  of  great  numbers,  will  not  suc 
cessively  experience  the  same  fate.  It  seems  now  to  be  better  under 
stood  than  formerly  that  the  ruin  of  one  branch  of  industry,  or  of 
one  kind  of  property,  must  unavoidably  disturb  and  injure  all  the 
rest.  I  thought  the  New  York  convention  took  the  only  safe  ground, 
which  was,  to  defend  the  whole  system.  This  unites  all  its  friends. 
It  must  be  defended  on  this  ground,  or  not  at  all.  Alterations  and 
modifications,  not  materially  affecting  the  principles  of  protection, 
are  of  course  to  be  admitted.  Let  the  wool-growers  and  woolen 
manufacturers  be  now  sacrificed,  and  it  is  idle  for  the  cotton  manu 
facturers  to  expect  when  attacked,  to  have  their  aid.  The  only 
security  is  in  the  union  of  all  the  friends  of  the  protective  system. 
For  this  end,  all  the  interests  must  be  faithfully  protected.  The 
whole  line  must  be  protected,  or  the  battle  will  be  lost.  Besides,  I 
do  not  see  what  is  to  be  gained  by  yielding  up  this  essential  part  of 
the  system.  As  I  understand  the  case,  the  enemies  of  the  protection 
of  manufactures,  deny  that  government  has  the  right  to  attempt  it. 
This  is  certainly  the  ground  assumed  by  their  leaders,  and  a  dis 
solution  of  the  Union  is  threatened  as  the  penalty  for  the  exercise 
of  this  right.  The  right  is  not,  in  the  opinion  of  a  vast  majority  of 
the  nation,  of  a  doubtful  nature.  To  attain  it  was  certainly  among 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  343 


the  chief  inducements  to  form  the  government.  A  great  majority 
deem  the  exercise  of  it  essential  to  their  welfare,  and  as  far  as  it 
has  been  exercised  the  results  have  been  eminently  successful.  Im 
mense  interests  are  involved.  Under  such  circumstances  to  yield  a  part 
in  hopes  of  appeasing  the  violence  of  the  opposers,  seems  to  me  to 
be  an  indication  of  weakness  and  folly.  This  yielding  will  not  satisfy 
or  appease  your  opponents,  but  encourage  them  to  reiterated  as 
saults,  till  the  whole  system  shall  be  (351)  abandoned.  It  will  be 
early  enough  to  yield  a  part,  and  to  modify,  when  there  shall  be 
reasonable  ground  to  expect  that  the  doing  so  will  produce  satisfac 
tion  and  lessen  the  violence  of  opposition.  I  do  not  believe  that 
yielding  at  the  present  time  would  produce  that  effect.  On  the  con 
trary,  I  think  it  would  encourage  opposition  and  increase  its  violence. 
Such  is  ordinarily  the  effect  of  yielding  to  unprovoked  and  unjusti 
fiable  threats.  I  would  do  nothing  to  increase  the  hopes  of  the 
Southern  States  that  the  exercise  of  the  power  in  question  would  be 
abandoned.  The  due  exercise  of  it  is  in  my  opinion  not  only  essential 
to  the  welfare  of  the  country,  but  to  the  very  existence  of  the  Union. 
Without  it  the  government  would  not  be  worth  preserving,  and 
such,  I  believe,  would  on  trial,  be  found  to  be  the  opinion  of  all  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  States.  The  abandonment  of  the  exercise  of 
this  power  would  immediately  overwhelm  New  England  with  poverty 
and  ruin.  I  do  not  pretend  to  calculate  the  effect  of  the  passing  this 
bill,  on  the  approaching  Presidential  election.  In  process  of  time, 
I  have  no  doubt,  it  would  render  its  advocates  unpopular  and  odious. 
But  as  the  operation  of  it  is  probably  suspended  to  a  future  day,  the 
effects  would  not  be  felt  by  the  people  till  after  the  election  will  be 
over.  If  anything  less  than  public  suffering  and  calamity  can 
awaken  the  people  to  a  sense  of  their  true  interests,  it  would  seem 
that  the  unprincipled  conduct  and  mischievous  attempts  of  the  pre 
sent  administration  would  do  it.  General  Jackson  has  sufficiently 
explained  what  he  means  by  a  judicious  staff.  A  number  of  gentle 
men,  and  Mr.  A.  Lawrence  among  the  rest,  are  about  setting  out  for 
Washington  to  explain  and  enforce  their  views  on  the  pending 
measure. 

I  am,  as  ever  faithfully,  yours,  J.  MASON. 


344  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  June  23,  1832. 

MY  DEAR  Sm, — I  duly  received  your  letter  ten  days  ago.  Mr. 
Biddle,  when  he  wrote  you,  requested  me  to  send  you  copies  of  the 
(352)  "Reports,"  which  I  promised  to  do;  but,  in  truth,  I  had  none  to 
send;  nor  did  we,  any  of  us,  get  more  than  one  copy,  until  two  days 
ago,  when  Mr.  Bell,  as  he  informs  me,  sent  you  one. 

I  have,  to-day  received  your  second  letter,  and  it  has  caused  me 
to  finish  a  duty  which  I  commenced  yesterday,  that  is,  to  write  you 
on  the  subject  of  your  first. 

I  have  reflected  a  good  deal  and  spoken  to  several  friends,  —  Mr. 
Bell,  Mr.  Clay,  Mr.  A.  Lawrence,  and  others,  —  as  to  the  neces 
sity  which  the  'Globe'  may  be  supposed  to  have  imposed  on  you,  to 
answer  its  slanders.  On  the  whole,  the  result  of  opinion  is,  that 
there  is  no  immediate  occasion  for  your  appearance  in  print.  The 
abuse  of  the  'Globe/  on  this  point,  will  hardly  affect  the  interest  or 
fate  of  the  bank,  in  its  present  crisis ;  and  if  it  should,  its  mischief 
would  be  accomplished  before  your  statement  could  appear.  My  own 
impression  is,  that  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  let  the  ques 
tion  go  which  way  it  may,  it  will  be  expedient  for  you,  at  your  leisure, 
to  make  a  suitable  publication.  I  think  it  may  probably  be  expected. 
No  doubt,  the  authority  on  which  the  'Globe'  proceeds,  is  Mr.  Wood- 
bury,  Mr.. Hill,  Mr.  Hubbard,  etc.,  etc.,  or  some  of  them. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Tariff  Bill  will  probably  be 
engrossed,  or  rejected,  to-day,  I  know  not  which.  If  it  come  here,  we 
shall  try,  first,  to  amend,  and,  second,  if  we  cannot  amend,  to  post 
pone  the  whole  subject.  Our  majority,  at  least,  will  be  small  and 
feeble.  Party  absorbs  everything.  New  York  (her  politicians)  are 
obviously  willing  to  sell  the  tariff,  or  anything  else,  for  the  sake  of 
making  Mr.  V.  B.  Vice  President. 

We  shall  know  in  a  few  days  what  the  end  is  to  be.  The  House 
of  Representatives  will  probably  take  up  the  Bank  Bill  Monday  or 
Tuesday.  I  think  it  will  pass  that  house;  but  the  prevailing  impres 
sion  is,  that  the  President  will  return  the  bill,  with  his  objection. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

(353) 
45 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  345 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

BOSTON,  January  8,  1835. 

DEAR  SIR, — The  Legislature  was  organized  yesterday.  A  nomi 
nation  will  be  made  within  a  few  days,  unless  some  unforeseen  obstacle 
comes  in  the  way..  I  have  seen  Governor  Davis,  whose  feelings  and 
opinions  are,  as  always,  entirely  right.  Mr.  Hale,  and  perhaps,  some 
others,  who  are  rightly  inclined,  but  habitually  slow  in  action,  seem 
desirous  of  having  a  more  formal  communication  with  the  Massachu 
setts  Representatives,  at  Washington,  on  the  subject.  Letters  have 
been  sent  to  Washington,  but,  I  think,  answers  will  not  be  waited  for. 
One  difficulty  suggested  against  the  movement  is,  that  a  nomination 
would  cause  your  resignation  of  your  seat  in  the  Senate,  at  the  end  of 
the  present  session.  This  is  stated  vaguely,  on  the  authority  of  a 
supposed  intimation  made  by  you.  This,  some  of  your  friends  have 
denied.  I  do  not  think  that  a  nomination  would  create  any  necessity 
for  a  resignation.  Indeed,  I  think  a  resignation  of  your  place  in  the 
Senate,  for  this  cause,  would  be  considered  as  false  delicacy.  In  this 
I  know  many  of  your  best  and  soundest  friends  concur.  It  would 
cause  universal  regret.  At  all  events,  it  seems  to  me  there  is  no 
necessity  for  making  such  a  determination  at  this  time.  If  the  elec 
tion  is  to  be  finally  determined  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  the 
presence  of  a  candidate  at  Washington,  without  exerting  any  im 
proper  influence,  will  be  advantageous. 

As  to  personal  considerations  for  your  resignation.  I  hope  ar 
rangements  can  be  made  to  counteract  their  influence.  Some  in 
dividuals  here,  who  have  a  right  to  speak  with  authority,  say  such 
arrangements  can  and  shall  be  made. 

Truly  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

(354) 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  1,  1835. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — rl  received  your  letter  yesterday,  and  the  mail  of 
to-day  brings  intelligence  verifying  your  prediction  that  Mr.  Davis 
would  be  elected  Senator.  So  far  as  regards  the  filling  up  the  vacant 


346  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


seat  in  the  Senate,  nothing  could  be  better.  I  hope  all  the  evil  will 
not  happen,  which  is  expected  or  feared,  arising  from  the  difficulty 
of  finding  him  a  successor  in  the  administration  of  the  executive 
government  of  the  State.  I  do  not  think  Mr.  Adams  will  ever  again 
consent  to  be  candidate;  certainly  not  against  Mr.  Everett;3  and  Mr. 
Everett  and  Mr.  Bates  are  not  men  to  suffer  the,  harmony  of  the 
State  to  be  disturbed  by  a  controversy  among  their  personal  friends. 
I  am  still  most  anxious  that  all  fair  means  should  be  used  to  settle 
this  masonic  and  anti-masonic  quarrel  in  Massachusetts.  You  have 
little  idea  how  much  it  retards  operations  elsewhere.  The  reported 
debate  in  the  Whig  Caucus,  on  the  subject  of  the  Bristol  Senators,  is 
industriously  sent  to  every  anti-masonic  quarter  of  the  union,  and 
has  excited  much  unkind  feeling,  and  thereby  done  mischief.  We 
are  endeavoring  here  to  make  the  best  of  Borden.  Our  anti-masonic 
friends  in  Congress  will  write  to  him,  advising  him  not  to  commit 
himself  to  any  course  of  public  conduct,  till  he  shall  come  here  and 
see  the  whole  ground.  The  nomination  appears  to  have  been  done 
as  well  as  it  could  be.  I  mean,  of  course,  in  the  manner  of  it.  No 
fault  is  found  with  it  by  our  friends,  so  far  as  I  know.  Measures  are 
in  train  to  produce  a  correspondent  feeling  and  action,  in  New  York, 
Vermont,  and  some  other  States.  The  Legislature  of  Maryland  is 
now  in  session,  and  I  have  seen  a  letter  to-day,  which  says,  that  if 
Mr.  Clay  were  fairly  out  of  the  way,  that  Legislature  would  immedi 
ately  second  the  Massachusetts  nomination.  Mr.  Clay  does  nothing, 
and  will  do  nothing,  at  present.  He  thinks  —  or  perhaps  it  is  his 
friends  who  think  —  that  something  may  yet  occur,  perhaps  a  war, 
which  may,  in  some  way,  cause  a  general  rally  round  him.  Besides, 
sundry  of  the  (355)  members  of  Congress  from  Kentucky,  in  addition 
a  Edward  Everett  (1794-1865),  born  at  Dorchester,  Mass.  An  American 
orator,  scholar  and  political  leader.  Was  graduated  at  Harvard,  became  a  tutor 
there,  and  in  1814  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  Brattle  St.  Unitarian  Church, 
Boston,  where  he  gained  wide  reputation  as  a  pulpit  orator  and  controversialist, 
when  less  than  twenty  years  old.  Was  professor  of  Greek  at  Harvard,  1815-24; 
studied  in  Germany  with  Geo.  Ticknor;  edited  N.  A.  Review  1820-4;  Representa 
tive  in  Congress  1825-35;  Governor  Massachusetts,  1836-40;  1841-45,  Minister  to 
Great  Britain;  President  Harvard  College  1846-9;  Secretary  State  1852-3;  U. 
S.  Senator,  185.3-4.  His  greatest  reputation  was  as  an  orator.  His  oratory  was 
elegant,  graceful,  polished,  elaborate,  often  florid,  carefully  studied,  and  general 
ly  more  or  less  artificial,  and  of  a  style  which  has  long  passed  out  of  date. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  347 


to  their  own  merits,  rely  not  a  little  on  Mr.  Clay's  popularity,  to  in 
sure  their  re-election  next  August.  They  have  been,  therefore,  alto 
gether  opposed  to  bringing  forward  any  other  man  at  present.  Public 
opinion  will,  in  the  end,  bring  out  these  things  straight.  If  Mas 
sachusetts  stands  steady,  and  our  friends  act  with  prudence,  the 
union  of  the  whole  Whig  and  anti-masonic  strength  is  certain. 
Everything  indicates  that  result.  Judge  McLean  already  talks  of 
retiring.  His  nomination  seems  coldly  received  everywhere.  Unless 
Indiana  should  come  out  for  him,  I  see  no  probability  of  any  other 
movement  in  his  favor.  Mr.  White's  nomination  is  likely  to  be  per 
sisted  in.  Neither  you  nor  I  have  ever  believed  it  would  be  easy  to 
get  Southern  votes  for  any  Northern  man;  and  I  think  the  prospect 
now  is,  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  will  lose  the  whole  South.  This  schism 
is  calculated  to  give  much  additional  strength  to  our  party.  If  Mr. 
W.  appear  likely  to  take  the  South,  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Van 
Buren  cannot  be  chosen  by  the  people ;  and  as  it  will  be  understood 
that  Mr.  White's  supporters  are  quite  as  likely  to  come  to  us,  in  the 
end,  as  to  go  to  Van  Buren,  his  course  will  lose  the  powerful  support 
which  it  derives,  or  has  derived,  from  an  assured  hope  of  success. 
The  effect  of  those  apprehensions  is  already  visible.  The  recent  at 
tempt  to  shoot  the  President  is  much  to  be  lamented.  Thousands 
will  believe  there  was  plot  in  it;  and  many  more  thousands  will  see 
in  it  new  proof,  that  he  is  especially  favored  and  protected  by 
IFeaven.  He  keeps  close  as  to  the  question  between  White  and  Van 
Buren.  I  have  omitted  to  do  what  I  intended,  that  is,  to  say  a  few 
words  upon  that  part  of  your  letter  which  relates  to  myself,  more 
directly.  In  a  day  or  two  I  will  make  another  attempt  to  accomplish 
that  purpose.  Mr.  Taney's  case  is  not  yet  decided.  A  movement  is 
contemplated  to  annex  Delaware  and  Maryland  to  Judge  Baldwin's 
circuit,  and  make  a  circuit  in  the  West  for  the  judge  now  to  be 
appointed.  If  we  could  get  rid  of  Mr.  Taney,  on  this  ground,  well 
and  good ;  if  not,  it  will  be  a  close  vote.  We  shall  have  a  warm  de 
bate  on  the  Post  Office  Report,  the  (356)  Alabama  resolutions,  and 
other  matters ;  but  I  think  my  course  is  to  take  no  prominent  part  in 
any  of  them.  I  may  say  something  against  expunging  the  Journal. 

Yours  truly,        .  D.  WEBSTER. 


348  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  March  19,  1835. 

MY  DEAR  Sm, — I  return  Mr.  -  -'s  letter.  Mr.  A.  did  quite  as 
well  in  his  letter  to  the  'Statesman'  as  could  be  expected.  We  have 
not  yet  acted  on  the  New  Hampshire  nominations.  I  know  not 
whether  to  desire  to  reject  them  or  not.  Decatur  and  Cushman  are 
in  great  danger,  but  would  they  be  succeeded  by  anybody  better? 
And  if  Hill  should  be  rejected,  should  we  not  have  him  in  the  Sen 
ate?  Appearances  in  various  parts  of  the  country  indicate  dissatis 
faction  with  the  present  state  of  things.  The  stock  of  patronage  is 
exhausted,  and  many  are  left  unprovided  for;  and  they  are  looking 
out  for  other  parties  and  other  leaders.  It  is  admitted,  I  believe,  by 
most  that  Mr.  Clay  is  gaining  rapidly  in  the  West.  Kentucky  is 
doubtless  strong  for  him,  and  as  against  anybody  but  General  Jack 
son,  he  would  take  nearly  all  the  Western  votes.  In  the  mean  time, 
the  anti-masonic  party,  steadily  increasing  in  New  York,  is  break 
ing  out  like  an  Irish  rebellion  in  Pennsylvania.  It  goes  on  with  a 
furore  that  subdues  all  other  feeling.  These  things  put  party  calcu 
lations  at  defiance.  The  party  here  are  obviously  very  much  alarmed. 
The  administration  Senators  are  understood  to  have  held  a  caucus 
two  nights  ago,  and  endeavored  to  unite  and  rally.  Something  more 
of  tone  and  decision  has  been  since  visible.  It  may  secure,  perhaps, 
the  confirmation  of  all  the  appointments.  As  to  measures,  they  are 
irreconcilable.  They  cannot  stir  against  the  tariff.  As  a  means  of 
union,  and  a  necessary  means,  they  seem  now  inclined  to  keep  the 
present  President  in  office  through  a  second  term.  He  now  intends 
to  hold  on,  beyond  all  doubt.  Here,  again,  accidents  to  his  life  or 
health  would  (357)  produce  quite  a  new  state  of  things;  so  that,  on 
the  whole,  I  do  not  think  there  has  been  a  period  in  our  time,  when 
one  could  see  less  of  the  future  than  the  present. 

I  thank  you  for  your  civil  sayings  about  my  speech.  It  has  made 
much  more  talk  than  it  deserves,  owing  to  the  topic,  and  to  the  times. 
I  hope  it  is  doing  some  good  at  the  South,  where  I  have  reason  to 
think  it  is  very  generally  circulated  and  read. 

Yours,  very  sincerely,  D.  WEBSTER. 

Having  cut  my  thumb,  I  write  even  worse  than  usual. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  349 


In  June,  1835,  another  great  sorrow  fell  upon  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ma 
son,  in  the  death  of  their  second  surviving  son,  James  Jeremiah  Ma 
son,  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  age.  It  was  a  bitter  grief  to  them, 
and  called  forth  the  strongest  expressions  of  sympathy  from  their 
many  friends.  Their  son  was  fondly  loved  by  them ;  and  he  deserved 
all  their  love.  And  it  was  hard  for  him  to  be  called  away  from  life  so 
soon,  for  he  had  much  to  make  life  sweet.  His  person  was  hand 
some,  his  manners  were  engaging,  his  disposition  was  amiable,  his 
business  prospects  were  brilliant,  and  he  had  recently  been  most  hap 
pily  married.  He  was  the  first  of  their  children  to  marry ;  and  every 
parent  can  understand  the  pleasure  with  which  they  looked  forward 
to  seeing  a  son  settled  near  them,  in  a  home  of  his  own.  But  all 
these  fond  hopes  and  anticipations  were  suddenly  shattered.  In 
course  of  a  journey  to  the  South,  in  the  spring  of  1835,  the  seeds  of 
a  disease  were  sown  in  his  frame,  which,  upon  his  return,  took  the 
form  of  a  fever,  which  ended  in  his  death,  after  a  brief  illness. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  GEORGE  TICKNOR.1 

BOSTON,  April  3,  1836. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  feel  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  letter  of  the 
21st  December,  notwithstanding  the  apparently  inexcusable  delay 
(358)  in  answering  it.  I  have  in  truth  been  much  occupied  with  pro 
fessional  engagements  during  the  winter  term  of  our  court,  which 
are  not  yet  ended.  'A  more  efficient  cause,  is,  I  am  habitually  a  very 
dilatory  correspondent.  If  you  will  grant  me  further  favor,  I  will 
endeavor  to  observe  better  manners  for  the  future.  I  am  glad  to 
know  that  your  opinion  of  the  present  state  and  future  prospects  of 
England  is  so  favorable.  You  certainly  had  a  fine  opportunity  of 
seeing  and  judging.  I  have  been  delighted  with  Mrs.  Ticknor's 
journal.  It  seems  impossible  to  have  spent  four  months  to  better 
advantage.  The  power  and  influence  of  that  nation  are  so  vast,  that 
her  course  must  of  necessity  materially  affect  not  only  our  own  coun 
try,  but  all  other  countries  of  the  civilized  world.  I  was  not  aware 

1  Mr.   Ticknor,  at  the  date  of  this  letter,  was  residing  with  his  family  in 
Dresden. 


350  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


that  the  wealth  of  the  commercial  and  manufacturing  classes  had 
increased  with  the  rapidity  you  state.  This  must  certainly  affect  the 
balance  of  power  in  the  government.  The  relative  power  of  the 
nobility  and  ancient  landed  gentry  has  certainly  lessened,  and  must 
continue  to  lessen  still  more.  Their  power  rested  essentially  in  their 
property.  The  stability  of  the  government  consisted  chiefly  in  the 
close  connection  between  property  and  political  power.  This  has  al 
ways  been  found  to  be  the  only  safe  foundation  for  stability  in  free 
governments,  where  the  people  are  opulent.  Wherever  great  wealth 
abounds,  it  will  be  the  prime  object  of  desire.  It  cannot  be  rendered 
secure  to  its  possessors,  without  giving  them  the  power  necessary  to 
defend  it  from  all  assaults.  As  the  wealth  of  the  commercial  and 
manufacturing  classes  increases,  in  the  same  degree  ought  their 
political  power  to  increase.  If  this  newly  acquired  power  can  be 
kept  under  the  influence  of  property,  the  government  may  change  in 
some  of  its  features,  according  as  the  taste  of  the  new  possessors  of 
power  differs  from  the  old.  But  I  see  cause  to  apprehend  revolution 
in  want  of  stability.  So  long  as  the  House  of  Commons  shall  truly 
represent  the  property  of  the  nation,  the  institutions  necessary  for 
the  security  of  property  will  be  preserved  in  vigor.  A  House  of  Com 
mons,  elected  by  any  influence  other  than  that  of  property,  will  be 
likely  to  make  war  on  it  (359),  or  at  least  become  careless  about  its 
protection  and  security.  Against  such  a  House  of  Commons,  the 
Peers,  can  make  no  efficient  stand.  In  this  connection  I  consider  the 
late  change  in  the  qualifications  of  electors  of  members  of  Parliament, 
and  the  new  modeling  of  the  municipal  corporations,  greatly  the 
most  important  of  all  the  attempted  innovations  on  the  British  Con 
stitution.  If  the  elective  franchise  be  extended  so  far  as  to  get  be 
yond  or  free  from  the  control  of  property,  I  should  anticipate  fur 
ther  changes  leading  to  trouble  and  confusion.  While  property 
governs,  it  matters  little  whether  it  be  in  the  hands  of  the  land 
ed  gentry,  or  of  the  capitalists,  or  in  the  hands  of  whigs  or  tories. 
I  know  this  aristocracy  of  wealth  is  apt  to  be  evil  spoken  of.  But  in 
a  country  where  wealth  greatly  abounds,  I  doubt  whether  any  other 
foundation  for  a  stable  free  government  can  be  found.  It  may  be  in 
some  degree  checked  and  modified  by  other  influences.  But  after  all 
the  real  power  must  mainly  rest  in  property.  In  our  country,  it  is 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  351 


quite  apparent  that  most  of  our  troubles  arise  from  the  right  of 
universal  suffrage.  This  is  our  radical  error.  Should  we  ever  arrive 
at  such  a  degree  of  wealth  as  Great  Britain  now  has,  it  will  be  entire 
ly  impracticable  for  us  to  get  on,  without  great  changes  in  our  gov 
ernment.  According  to  your  account  of  the  riches  of  that  country, 
we  need  not  fear  encountering  this  danger  soon.  Our  wealth,  how 
ever  is,  in  my  opinion,  increasing  as  rapidly  as  is  desirable. 

The  information  given  you  by  the  British  Minister  at  Dresden, 
that  the  apprehension  of  a  rupture  with  Russia  made  the  French 
Government  anxious  to  settle  their  misunderstanding  with  us,  was 
an  extraordinary  circumstance.  That  is  unquestionably  the  true  key 
to  the  unexpected  offer  of  the  British  Mediation,  and  also  to  the  time 
ly  discovery  by  the  French  Government,  of  the  satisfactory  ex 
planation  in  the  President's  last  speech,  of  the  insult  in  his  former 
speech.  It  is  not  a  little* remarkable  that  this  information  should 
first  come  (as  I  believe  it  did)  by  way  of  North  of  Germany.  They 
might  have  had  at  Washington  conjectures,  but  I  doubt  whether 
they  had  anything  in  the  nature  of  facts  to  rest  their  (360)  con 
jectures  on.  It  was  generally  believed  here  that  the  President  was 
inclined  for  war.  Many  expected  it.  A  war  spirit  was  rising,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  the  country  would  have  sustained  the  President  on 
the  ground  he  took.  If  the  French  had  not  yielded  the  point,  as  here 
they  are  understood  to  have  done,  war  must  have  been  the  conse 
quence.  History  affords  few  instances  of  war  for  causes  more  trivial 
or  foolish.  There  is  a  strong  expectation,  as  you  doubtless  know, 
that  the  Presidential  election  will  result  in  the  elevation  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren.  Judging  from  present  appearances  he  will  be  elected  by  the 
people.  Mr.  Webster  has  retired  from  the  contest.  Perhaps  he  may 
be  voted  "for  by  Massachusetts,  for  the  reason  that  this  State  cannot 
be  brought  to  vote  for  either  of  the  other  candidates.  The  Whigs  of 
New  England  will  make  no  effort  to  sustain  Harrison  or  White.  Mr. 
Van  Buren  will  profess  to  follow  in  the  tracks  of  the  old  hero,  but 
he  will  not  inherit  his  immense  personal  popularity.  None  of  the 
Southern  States  will  be  cordial  in  his  support.  Some  of  them  will 
oppose  him,  notwithstanding  his  efforts  to  conciliate  them.  But  I 
think  there  can  be  no  such  union  between  the  opposition  of  the  South 
and  the  North  as  will  render  it  powerful  or  efficient.  The  opposition 


352  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


in  the  Senate  has  lost  its  ascendency,  and  Congress  is  now  in  full 
blast.  Two  new  States,  Michigan  and  Arkansas,  will  be  admitted 
into  the  Union,  during  the  present  session.  Both  of  them  will  be 
Van  Buren  States.  The  most  exciting  political  subject  of  the  present 
time  is  the  abolition  of  slavery.  There  are  now  at  least  five  hundred 
abolition  societies  in  the  United  States,  and  they  are  rapidly  in 
creasing,  both  in  numbers  and  zeal.  Few  political  men  of  any  stand 
ing  have  yet  joined  them.  As  soon  as  they  show  themselves  powerful 
at  the  polls,  they  will  not  want  for  political  leaders.  Dr.  Channing's 
pamphlet,  which  you  have  doubtless  seen,  has  gone  through  several 
large  editions.  It  has  exposed  him  to  much  censure,  not  only  from 
slave-holders,  but  from  many  not  infected  with  that  taint.  Very 
many  of  his  friends  think  it  unfortunate  that  he  meddled  with  a 
subject  so  entirely  unmanageable  for  any  practical  purpose.  (361) 
The  people  of  the  South  are  greatly  excited  and  alarmed.  Calhoun 
and  your  friend  Preston  take  a  prominent?  lead.  They  are  suspected 
of  an  intention  of  making  use  of  this  subject  as  a  means  of  dissolv 
ing  the  Union,  and  establishing  a  Southern  Republic.  In  my  opinion 
no  question  has  arisen  since  the  establishment  of  our  government 
so  dangerous  to  its  permanence,  as  this.  Whenever  the  abolitionists 
gain  such  an  ascendency  as  to  induce  any  interference,  on  the  subject 
of  slavery  in  the  Southern  States,  those  states  will  withdraw  from 
the  Union.  They  seem  united  in  opinion,  that  a  regard  for  their 
safety  would  require  them  so  to  do,  and  to  erect  a  government 
especially  calculated  to  protect  them  against  slave  insurrection.  Our 
good  city  moves  on  its  accustomed  course.  Money  is  the  main  object 
and  that  is  obtained  fast  enough  to  satisfy  most  of  its  votaries. 
Those  of  my  own  family  are  as  far  recovered  from  the  ef 
fects  of  our  overwhelming  domestic  calamity,  as  could  be  expected. 
Indeed,  Mrs.  Mason  has  shown  more  resignation,  patience  and  forti 
tude  than  I  expected  from  her.  They  all  unite  with  me  in  affection 
ate  regards  to  yourself,  Mrs.  Ticknor,  and  Anna,  to  whom  I  request 
to  be  remembered  in  a  special  manner.  I  am  flattered  with  the 
assurance  that  amid  all  the  novelties  she  is  constantly  seeing,  she 
permits  me  to  retain  a  place  in  her  recollection.  We  miss  you  more 
than  I  can  express.  As  Mrs.  Ticknor's  health,  the  professed  object 
of  your  going  abroad,  seems  now  pretty  well  established,  I  am  selfish 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  353 


enough  to  wish  that  a  Russian  war,  or  something  else,  should  drive 
you  home,  before  the  expiration  of  the  threatened  period  of  your 
absence. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  as  ever,  with  entire  esteem,  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

NEW  YORK,  June  30,  1836. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — .  . .  .  Affairs  were  in  a  pretty  state  of  excitement 
when  we  left  Washington.  Be  assured,  Maryland,  Ohio,  and  (362) 
Kentucky,  are  irretrievably  lost  to  the  administration.  Indiana,  also, 
and  probably  Illinois  and  Missouri.  Recent  events  will  hasten  on  the 
contest,  and  it  will  be  impossible  to  restrain  the  people  from  bringing 
out  Mr.  Clay  as  a  candidate  ag'ainst  General  Jackson.  We  had  a  great 
run  of  luck,  especially  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  last 
week  of  the  session.  I  hope  to  see  you  soon.  As  to  my  seat,  I  shall 
not  act  suddenly  on  that  subject.  Sometime  ago,  you  expressed  a 
wish  that  Mr.  Madison  might  come  out  against  this  nullifying  doc 
trine.  That  object  is  secured.  In  due  time  the  public  will  have  the 
benefit  of  his  opinions,  in  the  most  gratifying  manner.  I  left  Wash 
ington  on  Monday,  the  moment  of  the  adjournment,  and  came  hither, 
without  much  delay.  At  Philadelphia  I  saw  Mr.  Biddle  and  some  oth 
er  gentlemen,  and  we  had  a  hearty  laugh  at  the  fortunes  which  have 
befallen  your  puissant  accusers,  Hill,  Decatur,  and  Cushman 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  as  ever,  D.  WEBSTER. 

JOSEPH  STORY  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

CAMBRIDGE,  December  29,  1837. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  enclose  you  a  copy  of  the  title-page  and  dedi 
cation  and  preface  of  my  new  work.1  I  hope  that  you  will  not  think 
that  I  have  taken  too  great  a  liberty  with  your  name,  in  what  I  have 
said,  as  it  is  a  very  moderate  expression  of  my  own  opinions. 

The  work  will  probably  be  published  about  the  first  of  February, 

1  The  Commentaries  on  Equity  Pleadings. 


354  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


being  now  nearly  all  printed,  with  the  exception  of  the  Indexes  and 
a  few  sheets  of  the  text.  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  asking  you  to 
accept  a  copy,  when  it  is  published. 

I  am  with  the  highest  respect,  truly  yours, 

JOSEPH  STORY. 

In  1838,  on  completing  his  seventieth  year,  Mr.  Mason,  in  ac 
cordance  with  a  resolution  formed  long  before,  retired  from  active 
(363)  practice  in  the  courts,  and  during  the  rest  of  his  life  confined 
himself  to  the  duties  of  chamber  counsel.  Herein  he  found  all  the 
professional  employment  he  wanted ;  and  his  family,  his  friends,  and 
his  books,  filled  up  all  the  time  not  needed  for  the  claims  of  his 
clients.  He  never  knew  the  burden  of  unoccupied  hours,  or  the 
dreariness  of  living  without  an  object.  In  July,  1842,  he  accepted,  in 
the  following  letter,  an  invitation  from  Mr.  Ticknor  to  come  to 
Woods'  Hole,  where  he  and  his  family  were  passing  the  summer. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  GEORGE  TICKNOR. 

BOSTON,  July  23,  1842. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  am  much  obliged  by  your  kind  invitation  to 
repeat  my  visit  to  you  in  your  seclusion  this  summer.  Recollecting 
the  high  enjoyment  I  had  there  the  last  season,  I  find  it  impossible 
to  refuse  your  present  invitation.  I  received  your  letter  on  my  re 
turn  with  Mrs.  Mason  from  Connecticut,  where  we  had  been  to  see 
my  relatives.  I  contemplate  soon  making  a  short  tour  somewhere 
with  my  daughters,  after  which,  sometime  during  the  month  of 
August,  I  intend  to  avail  myself  of  your  invitation,  bringing  with 
me  some  of  my  family,  of  which  I  will  give  you  seasonable  notice. 
Mrs.  Mason  and  my  daughters  desire  their  best  regards  to  Mrs.  Tick 
nor  and  Anna,  with  thanks  to  Mrs.  T.  for  her  note. 

You  ought  to  be  thankful  that  you  have  nothing  but  newspapers 
to  pester  you  on  the  deplorable  condition  of  our  public  affairs.  The 
tone  of  conversation  here  has  become  distressingly  desponding  and 
sad.  Public  and  private  credits  are  daily  sinking  lower  and  lower. 
All  important  business  plans  suspended,  and  the  merchants  and  cap- 


1.     GEORGE  TICKNOR.  3.     MARTIN,  VAN 

2.     GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

4.     E.  ROCKWELL  HOAR.  5.     RUFUS  CHOATE. 

7.     WILLIAM  COLEMAN. 

6.     JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  8.     DAVID  DAGGETT 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  355 


italists,  having  nothing  to  do,  interchange  moans  with  each  other. 
From  Washington  all  hopes  of  relief  are  nearly  abandoned.  The  pre 
vailing  opinion  is  that  Congress  will  adjourn  without  doing  anything 
effectual  with  the  tariff.  The  general  contempt  for  the  President 
is  increased,  and  the  desertion  of  the  Southern  Whigs  excites  in 
many  breasts  very  angry  feelings.  Amidst  this  general  (364) 
gloom,  a  letter  from  A.  Lawrence,"  just  received,  sheds  a  ray  of  hope 
on  the  pending  negotiations  with  Great  Britain.  He  says,  that  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  have  agreed  on  a  line  for  the  Eastern 
boundary,  and  that  Massachusetts  has  assented  to  it.  Hence  it  is  in 
ferred  that  the  treaty  will  be  made  and  the  line  established  with  or 
without  the  assent  of  Maine. 

I  am  with  sincere  regard,  truly  yours,  J.  MASON. 

A  letter  from  Mr.  Ticknor  to  Mr.  Legare,15  written  after  Mr.  Ma 
son's  visit,  gives  a  pleasant  glimpse  of  the  latter  in  his  hours  of  so 
cial  ease. 


WOODS  HOLE,  August  21,  1842. 

MY  DEAR  LEGARE, —  ....  Mr.  Mason  came  last  week  and  passed 
a  few  days  with  us.  He  was  very  amusing,  —  talking  more  than 
common  and  less  politics,  and  in  a  less  lugubrious  tone.  He  feels  that 
at  seventy-five  he  need  not  trouble  himself  much  about  what  you  do 
at  Washington,  and  though  the  state  of  the  country  deprives  him  of 
four  or  five  thousand  dollars  a  year  from  his  hard  earned  income,  he 
neither  frets  nor  whines  about  it.  Things  will  last  out  his  time ;  and 
for  posterity,  they  must  do  as  he  has  done,  —  fight  it  out.  So  he 
played  whist,  and  made  merry;  took  a  nap  in  the  forenoon,  and  a 
cigar  in  the  afternoon,  in  short,  was  in  the  best  possible  condition. 
But  he  gives  you  all  up  at  Washington,  and  thinks  it  is  time  there 
was  a  Convention  of  the  Free  States,  to  look  out  for  themselves. 

The  veto  came  while  he  was  here,  and  good  fun  he  made  of  it. 

a  Abbott  Lawrence. 

b  Hugh  S.  Legare  (lu-gre').  (1789-1843).  As  an  orator  and  politician 
Legare  rivalled  the  splendor  of  Burke,  and  his  flashing  reach  of  thought,  as  a 
scholar  he  entirely  equalled  Gibbon  in  labor  and  in  learning  and  would  have 
—24 


356  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  August  21,  1842. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  cannot  forego  the  pleasure  of  saying  to  an  old 
and  constant  friend,  who,  I  know,  takes  a  personal  as  well  as  public 
interest  in  the  matter,  that  the  treaty1  was  ratified  last  evening,  by  a 
(365)  vote  of  thirty-nine  to  nine!  I  did  not  look  for  a  majority  quite 
so  large.  I  am  truly  thankful  that  the  thing  is  done. 

Yours  ever  faithfully, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

JEREMIAH  MASON  TO  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

BOSTON,  August  28,  1842. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — You  are  entirely  right  in  the  belief  that  I  feel 
deeply  interested  in  the  matter  of  your  treaty,  as  well  for  public  as 
personal  reasons.  In  my  opinion  it  is  of  more  importance  to  the  wel 
fare  of  the  country  than  anything  that  has  taken  place  since  the 
Treaty  of  Ghent.  Such  I  believe  to  be  the  public  opinion.  Your 
merits  in  this  negotiation  are  universally  admitted  to  as  great  an 
extent  as  can  be  desired.  What  affects  you  so  essentially,  cannot  fail 
to  excite  a  strong  personal  interest  with  me.  For  be  assured,  my 
dear  Sir,  that  there  has  never  been  a  moment  during  our  long  con 
tinued  friendship  when  I  feel  more  deeply  interested  in  your  wel 
fare  than  I  do  at  the  present  time.  While  I  most  cordially  congratu 
late  you  on  your  present  success  and  the  increase  of  your  reputation 
as  a  statesman  therefrom,  I  cannot  forbear  suggesting  my  fear  and 
anxiety  for  the  future.  When  the  late  cabinet  so  hastily  resigned 
their  places,  under  the  supposed  influence  of  Mr.  C.,  I  certainly 
thought  you  acted  rightly  in  not  going  out  at  his  dictation.  The 
eminent  services  you  have  since  performed  will  satisfy  all  whose 

1  The  Ashburton  Treaty, — named  after  Lord  Ashburton  (Alexander  Baring), 
who  with  Webster,  negotiated  the  treaty. 

placed  himself  in  parallel  with  Mansfield  as  a  lawyer,  *  *  *  A  man  far  the  most 
remarkable  that  our  country  has  seen,  in  all  accomplishments  of  public  life,  he 
left  nothing  to  be  lamented  in  his  career  except  its  early  close,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-four.  He  was  appointed  Attorney  General  of  the  U.  S.  by  President  Tyler 
in  1841. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  357 


opinions  are  of  any  value,  that  you  judged  rightly  in  remaining  in 
office  to  enable  you  to  do  what  you  have  done.  This  important  af 
fair  is  now  brought  to  a  happy  conclusion,  and  your  best  friends  here 
think  that  there  is  an  insuperable  difficulty  in  your  continuing  any 
longer  in  President  Tyler's  Cabinet.  Having  no  knowledge  of  your 
standing  or  personal  relations  with  him,  or  of  your  views,  I  do  not 
feel  authorized  to  volunteer  any  opinion  or  advice.  I  presume  you 
are  aware  of  the  estimation  in  which  the  President  is  held  in  this  re 
gion.  By  the  Whigs  he  is  almost  universally  detested.  This  (366) 
detestation  is  as  deep  and  thorough  as  their  contempt  for  his  weak 
ness  and  folly  will  permit  it  to  be.  I  use  strong  language,  but  not 
stronger  than  the  truth  justifies;  your  friends  doubt  whether  you  can 
either  safely  to  your  own  character  and  honor  act  under  or  with 
such  a  man.  It  is  generally  understood  that  Mr.  Choate  will  resign 
at  the  end  of  this  session.  In  that  event  your  old  seat  in  the  Senate 
will  be  open  to  you ;  on  some  accounts  that  would  not  seem  altogether 
desirable.  I  have  heard  it  suggested  that  you  might  have  Mr.  Ever 
ett's  place  in  England  and  let  him  go  over  to  France. 

I  repeat  that  for  the  reasons  already  intimated  I  give  no  opinion 
or  advice  as  to  what  is  best  and  most  expedient.  I  hope  and  trust 
you  will  judge  and  determine  rightly  .  Lord  Ashburton  has  been  re 
ceived  here  in  a  manner,  I  presume,  quite  satisfactory  to  himself. 
He  lauded  you  publicly  and  also  in  private  conversation  in  terms  as 
strong  as  your  best  friends  could  desire. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  as  ever,  faithfully  yours, 

J.  MASON. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

WASHINGTON,  February  6,  1844. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  received  your  letter  of  January  29th.  The 
story  of  my  being  about  to  remove  to  New  York  is  quite  idle.  Having 
entered  into  engagements  to  take  part  in  three  or  four  causes,  to  be 
heard  in  that  city,  some  young  gentlemen  invited  me  to  take  a  room 
near  theirs,  for  my  use,  when  there,  with  access  to  their  library, 
etc.  This  I  agreed  to  as  being  convenient  to  me;  and  probably  they 


358  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


supposed  it  would  not  be  prejudical  to  them.  The  subject  of  return 
ing  to  the  Senate  has  been  suggested  to  me,  from  various  quarters. 
At  the  present  moment  I  see  no  great  public  object  to  be  accom 
plished,  by  such  a  movement,  and  it  might  only  excite  expectations 
not  likely  to  be  fulfilled.  No  great  interest  can  be  felt  for  what  re 
mains  to  be  done,  under  the  present  administration.  The  country 
is  likely  to  be  mainly  occupied  with  the  (367)  next  election.  The 
result  of  that  election  may  enable  us  to  see  what  is  before  us,  more 
clearly.  Mr.  Choate's  term  expires  in  March,  1845,  and  from  the 
proposed  time  of  his  resignation  to  that  time,  I  do  not  see  much  that 
could  be  done  for  good.  Besides,  I  think  it  would  be  rather  awkward 
to  be  in  the  Senate  now.  I  could  not  probably  approve  much  of 
what  should  be  done  by  the  administration ;  and  it  would  be  disagree 
able  to  find  myself  obliged  to  oppose  vigorously,  an  administration 
to  which  I  have  myself  belonged.  There  being  therefore,  in  my  judg 
ment,  no  great  public  object  to  be  attained,  I  feel  the  more  at  lib 
erty  to  consult  my  private  convenience.  I  am  now  a  little  engaged  in 
the  law,  and  need  strongly  enough  what  fees  I  may  be  able  to  pick 
up.  To  be  sure,  I  should  be  very  glad  to  be  done  with  the  courts; 
but  their  atmosphere,  if  not  altogether  pleasant,  is  yet  usefully 
bracing,  to  those  whose  purses  are  slender,  however  it  may  be  with 
their  constitutions.  On  all  accounts,  therefore,  I  think  it  better  that 
I  should,  for  the  present,  remain  where  I  am.  Let  us  see  what  the 
ensuing  election  may  bring  forth.  I  dare  say  there  is  no  very  strong 
desire  that  I  should  return  to  the  Senate.  The  body  of  the  Whigs 
might  wish  it,  but  there  are  other  candidates,  who  may  like  the 
chance,  and  there  are  also  some  prominent  men  who  have  not  yet  di 
gested  the  spleen,  generated  by  past  events.  As  to  these  last,  let 
them  indulge  themselves,  I  shall  bide  my  time. 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  very  truly, 

DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

A  diary  kept  by  his  eldest  daughter,  Mary  Mason,  and  seen  by 
no  one  but  herself  till  after  her  death,  contains  a  few  entries  touch 
ing  the  last  years  of  her  father's  life,  which  may  be  here  appropri 
ately  introduced. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  359 


1845,  November. — My  dear  father  seems  deeply  touched  by  the 
sorrow  of  our  beloved  friends,1  and  we  talked  a  good  deal  upon  the 

(368)  recognition  of  friends  in  Heaven.    He  thinks  the  doctrine  is  no 
where  clearly  revealed  in  Scripture,  but  it  is  one  no  human  mind  is 
willing  to  give  up.    He  hopes  to  recognize  his  mother  there,  of  whom 
he  has  the  most  delightful  recollection. 

1847,  January. — Father  says  that  during  the  Avery  trial,  a 
young  clergyman  came  to  him  and  told  him  that  the  Lord  had  re 
vealed  to  him  in  a  dream  that  Avery  was  innocent  and  had  command 
ed  him  to  tell  him.  Father  asked  if  it  had  been  revealed  to  him  how  it 
could  be  proved.  The  man  acknowledged  that  it  had  not.  Then  father 
told  him  he  had  no  confidence  in  his  dream. 

1847,  March. — Father  was  reading  this  afternoon  Peabody's 
"Sermons  on  Consolation."  He  said  he  liked  them,  but  should  have 
liked  them  better  if  they  were  more  orthodox.  He  wanted  to  keep 
all  the  orthodoxy  he  had.  He  would  give  almost  anything  he  had  for 
the  strong  faith  of  his  grandfather,  Fitch,  who  was  a  pious,  good,  old 
man,  and  used  to  take  a  great  interest  in  him,  when  he  was  a  young 
man,  thinking,  as  he  was  going  to  college,  that  he  would  certainly  be 
a  minister. 

1847,  March. — Father  seems  depressed  at  times,  and  to  feel  the 
burden  of  old  age  pressing  very  heavily  upon  him.  He  often  says 
that  his  chief  business  now  is  to  prepare  for  a  better  world,  and 
that  he  is  constantly  trying  to  do  so.  He  seems  to  feel  intimations 
which  he  cannot  describe,  that  his  days  are  not  to  be  long  on  earth, 
and  the  tenderness  of  his  affection  for  his  family,  and  loving  to  have 
us  close  to  him,  is  very  touching.  How  thankful  I  feel  that  Charles 
is  to  be  living  so  near  him.  He  loves  to  talk  of  the  resurrection,  and 
was  much  interested  this  evening  in  hearing  Dr.  Stone's  sermon  upon 
the  Church  in  Heaven. 

The  Avery  trial  mentioned  in  Miss  Mason's  diary  was  that  of 
the  Rev.  Ephraim  K.  Avery,  a  Methodist  clergyman,  charged  with 

(369)  the  murder  of  Sarah  M.  Cornell,  before  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Rhode  Island,  in  Newport,  in  May,  1833.    It  awakened  an  intense  in 
terest  throughout  New  England,  and  especially  in  the  State  of  Rhode 

1  The  death  of  Robert  Lawrence,  the  youngest  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Amos 
Lawrence,  is  here  alluded  to. 


360  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


Island.  The  fact  that  a  Methodist  clergyman,  of  hitherto  irreproach 
able  life,  was  charged  with  the  crime  of  murder,  and  incidentally  of 
adultery,  was  alone  enough  to  create  a  strong  sensation,  and  there 
were  besides,  many  elements  in  the  case  calculated  to  stimulate  and 
gratify  a  prurient  taste.  Persons  took  sides  for  and  against  the  pris 
oner,  and  made  up  there  minds  beforehand  as  to  his  guilt  or  inno 
cence,  and  on  this  account  it  was  difficult  to  find  twelve  unbiased  men 
to  sit  upon  a  jury.  The  trial  lasted  twenty-seven  days,  beginning  on 
the  sixth  day  of  May,  and  closing  on  the  second  day  of  June,  and  an 
immense  number  of  witnesses  were  examined.  It  was  one  of  those 
sensational  cases  for  which  Mr.  Mason  had  little  taste,  and  in  which 
he  was  not  often  engaged,  and  he  accepted  the  retainer  as  a  mere 
matter  of  professional  duty. 

The  great  religious  denomination  to  which  the  prisoner  be 
longed  were  naturally  desirous  to  secure  in  his  defense  the  best  pro 
fessional  ability  the  country  afforded,  and  the  result  showed  the  wis 
dom  they  displayed  in  selecting  a  great  lawyer  and  a  man  of  consum 
mate  judgment  like  Mr.  Mason  rather  than  a  showy  declaimer.  The 
facts  in  th'e  case  were  well  calculated  for  Mr.  Mason's  peculiar  pow 
ers.  The  issue  of  guilty  or  not  guilty  involved  two  inquiries:  first, 
whether  the  unhappy  young  woman  whose  death  was  the  cause  of  the 
trial  committed  suicide  or  was  murdered;  and  secondly,  whether  in 
the  latter  event,  the  prisoner  was  the  guilty  party.  Of  these  two 
inquiries  the  former  was  the  more  important,  for  if  the  jury  were 
satisfied  of  the  murder,  this,  owing  to  the  facts  in  the  case,  would 
have  been  one  step,  at  least,  towards  the  conviction  of  the  prisoner, 
whose  counsel  had  no  other  theory  to  account  for  the  death  than  that 
it  was  an  act  of  self-destruction.  Mr.  Mason's  cue  therefore  was  to 
persuade  the  jury  that  Miss  Cornell  had  not  been  murdered,  but  had 
committed  suicide.  To  this  point  his  whole  force  was  directed  both  in 
his  argument  and  in  the  examination  and  (370)  cross-examination 
of  witnesses.  His  case  was  to  be  made  out  by  inferences  drawn  from 
a  great  number  of  facts,  and  for  this  task  his  infinite  patience,  his 
tenacious  memory,  his  logical  power,  and  his  unerring  tact  were  ad 
mirably  suited.  The  whole  trial  may  be  advantageously  studied  by 
the  young  lawyer  as  an  illustration  of  what  has  before  been  said, 
that  sound  judgment  is  the  most  important  element  in  the  conduct  of 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  361 


cases,  whether  civil  or  criminal.  His  argument  is  a  simple  unimpas- 
sioned  statement  addressed  to  the  understandings  of  the  jury,  pre 
senting  the  facts  on  behalf  of  the  prisoner  in  that  plain  way  which 
veiled  the  consummate  skill  with  which  they  were  marshalled.  After 
such  an  argument,  it  may  be  safely  said  that  a  conviction  could  not 
have  been  possible,  though  a  divided  jury  might  have  been.  The 
prisoner  was  acquitted,  and  though  there  was  some  local  and  tem 
porary  dissatisfaction,  the  general  public  were  satisfied  with  the  re- 
suit. 

I  will  not  vouch  for  the  truth  of  the  following  anecdote;  but  if 
not  true  it  is  probable.  It  is  said  that  some  time  after  the  trial  a 
friend  of  Mr.  Mason's,  not  a  lawyer,  ventured  to  ask  him  whether  he 
himself  thought  that  Avery  was  innocent;  to  which  Mr.  Mason  re 
plied  with  a  smile,  "Upon  my  word,  I  never  thought  of  it  in  that  light 
before." 

Another  story  told  of  him  as  happening  in  Newport  during  the 
course  of  this  trial,  I  believe  to  be  true.  A  distinguished  member  of 
the  Rhode  Island  bar,  who  had  never  before  met  Mr.  Mason,  had 
heard  of  his  habit  of  asking  questions,  especially  of  new  acquain 
tances,  and  when  presented  to  him  he  determined  to  forestall  him  in 
this  particular,  and  accordingly  began  the  conversation  by  a  series 
of  questions.  Among  other  things,  he  asked  him  whether  he  liked 
this  and  whether  he  liked  that,  of  all  which  queries  Mr.  Mason  ans 
wered  some  and  parried  others.  At  last  his  interrogator  said:  "Well, 
Mr.  Mason,  tell  me  what  you  do  like?"  To  which  Mr.  Mason  replied: 
"Why,  I  like  to  sit  in  this  chair,  and  have  a  Rhode  Island  lawyer  ask 
me  questions."  It  is  needless  to  add  that  the  examination  by  in 
terrogatories  was  not  further  continued.  (371) 

A  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Mason  in  the  last  year  of  his  life  by 
Mr.  C.  G.  Loring,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Suffolk  bar,  shows  the  high 
respect  in  which  the  former  was  held  by  his  professional  brethren. 

CHARLES  G.  LORING  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

To  HON.  J.  MASON  :— 

Dear  Sir, — (The  Law  Club  will  commence  its  winter  meetings 
at  my  house  on  Monday,  and  I  hope  we  may  anticipate  the  gratifica- 


362  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


tion  of  your  attendance.  I  am  induced  to  write  to  you  upon  the  sub 
ject,  by  an  intimation  at  Judge  Putnam's,  that  it  was  doubtful 
whether  you  intended  to  continue  to  us  the  pleasure  of  your  atten 
dance  ;  and  from  his  saying  to  me,  that  he  should  retire  if  you  did.  I 
utter  the  feelings  of  all  the  members  of  the  club  with  whom  I  habit 
ually  associate,  and  I  doubt  not  of  all  the  rest,  that  we  should  es 
teem  the  loss  of  yourself  and  Judge  Putnam  as  one  of  the  greatest 
privations  we  could  incur  —  not  to  say  the  greatest.  And  I  trust 
therefore,  that  for  our  sakes,  you  may  be  induced  to  remain  with  us. 
Permit  me  too,  to  add,  with  the  freedom  which  your  great  and  un 
varying  kindness  to  me  seems  to  authorize,  that  I  cannot  but  think 
that  the  occasional  intercourse  of  yourselves  with  those  who  enter 
tain  towards  you  sentiments  of  such  profound  respect  and  hearty 
affection,  and  who  are  almost  inevitably  secluded  from  you  by  their 
engrossing  and  arduous  labors,  at  all  other  times,  may  do  something 
to  help  the  winters  pass  more  agreeably,  in  retaining  you  still  in  the 
atmosphere  of  social  labor,  where  you  have  done  so  much  for  your 
and  their  mutual  good  and  honor. 

With  very  great  affection  and  respect, 

CHARLES  G.  LORING. 

8  ASHBURTON  PLACE,  November  13,  1847. 

(372) 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  TO  JEREMIAH  MASON.1 

BOSTON,  May  8,  1848. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — I  thank  you  for  your  kind  letter,  received 
some  days  ago,  and  for  all  the  proofs  of  sympathy  and  affection 
manifested  for  us  in  our  afflictions.  These  two  calamities  were  un 
expected.  I  find  it  difficult  to  hold  up  against  them.  Of  five  chil 
dren,  only  one  remains.  But  I  try  to  discipline  myself,  and  sub 
mit  without  repining  to  the  will  of  God.  It  is  a  sad  thing  to  outlive 
our  children;  but  if  it  be  so  ordered  by  Divine  Wisdom,  I  acquiese. 

1  This  letter  was  in  reply  to  one  from  Mr.  Mason,  called  forth  by  the  death 
of  Mr.  Webster's  second  son,  Major  Edward  Webster,  and  Mrs.  Julia  Webster 
Appleton,  his  daughter. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  363 


Ere  long,  I  know  that  I  must  follow  them.  I  shall  not  go  to  Wash 
ington  for  a  week  or  ten  days,  and  will  find  an  occasion  to  see  you  and 
your  family  before  my  departure.  You  and  Mrs.  Mason  are  among 
those  whom  I  and  mine  have  longest  known  and  most  loved.  I  thank 
God  that  I  am  not  deprived  of  either  of  you  in  this  day  of  trouble.  I 
look  back  on  our  long  friendship  and  intercourse,  as  a  bright  line 
along  the  course  of  life ;  and  it  has  been  a  continuing  consolation, 
when  connections  the  nearest  and  dearest  have  been  struck  down. 

With  true  regard  and  affection,  yours, 

D.  WEBSTER. 

On  the  27th  day  of  April,  1848,  Mr.  Mason  completed  his  eightieth 
year.  Thus  far  the  natural  infirmities  of  age  had  pressed  lightly  up 
on  him.  His  constitution  was  robust,  his  health  had  always  been 
vigorous,  and  his  intellectual  powers  had  suffered  no  decline.  He  had 
the  same  pleasure  in  reading,  and  in  the  society  of  his  family  and 
friends,  that  he  had  always  had.  And  so  it  continued  during  the 
summer  and  early  autumn  of  1848.  It  was  in  the  month  of  October 
that  the  final  summons  came,  and  the  Providence  which  had  crowned 
his  life  with  so  many  blessings,  was  equally  kind  in  the  manner  of 
his  death,  sparing  him  the  burden  of  a  long  illness,  and  (373)  sparing 
his  friends  and  family  the  pain  of  seeing  the  mind  decay  before  the 
body  died.  The  following  narrative  of  his  last  illness  and  death  is 
taken  from  the  diary  of  his  daughter,  Mary  Mason,  from  which  a  few 
extracts  have  been  previously  given :  — 

''October  15,  1848. — The  blow  has  come  at  last,  which  has  re 
moved  our  noble  head.  Our  beloved  father  is  no  longer  here.  He 
breathed  his  last  peacefully  at  eight  o'clock  last  evening,  his  dear 
ones  all  around  him,  and  I  think  he  was  conscious  of  their  presence 
almost  to  the  last,  for  he  pressed  Charles'1  hand  when  he  asked  him  if 
he  knew  him,  I  think  within  an  hour  of  his  death.  We  had  thought 
him  dying  since  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  Charles  made  an 
earnest  prayer  for  him,  at  his  request.  Now  that  the  solemn  scene 
is  over,  let  me  try  to  recall  some  of  the  circumstances. 

1  His  youngest  son,  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  settled  in  Boston. 


364  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


"Sunday,  the  8th  of  October,  he  was  well,  and  went  to  church  all 
day,  which  has  been  an  effort  to  him  during  the  last  year,  when  his 
infirmities  had  increased,  and  an  afternoon  nap  was  necessary  for 
his  health  and  comfort.  Monday,  he  drove  mother  out  in  the  morn 
ing,  but  did  not  seem  very  well;  but  he  called  with  her,  as  he  had 
many  times  before,  to  see  Mrs.  Eustis,  who  has  been  so  ill.  He  came 
home  at  his  usual  hour  in  the  afternoon.  I  was  sitting  at  the  win 
dow.  He  sat  down  in  his  chair  that  he  loved  so  well,  and  enjoyed  a 
quiet  hour  of  meditation,  looking  upon  the  western  sky  and  sunset. 
How  he  loved  that  hour  and  view,  and  would  seem  to  fix  his  eyes 
upon  the  distance,  as  if  he  would  penetrate  the  brightness  beyond! 
That  evening  was  a  very  pleasant  one.  Miss  Lyman  took  tea  with  us, 
and  father  made  her  sit  down  by  him,  and  tell  him  of  a  visit  she  had 
been  making  in  Lebanon,  and  talked  with  great  interest  to  her  of  the 
old  place.  He  has  loved  lately  so  much  to  speak  of  the  home  of  his 
childhood.  Dr.  Potter,1  with  Charles,  were  here  in  the  evening.  Dr. 
Potter  sat  all  the  time  close  to  father,  and  seemed  to  value  the  privi 
lege. 

"The  next  morning  he  did  not  come  down  to  breakfast,  and  took 

(374) 

it  late,  and  seemed  unwell.  I  went  into  the  library,  and  found  he  had 
laid  down  his  paper.  I  asked  him  if  I  should  read  a  speech  of  Mr. 
Webster's ;  but  he  did  not  listen  with  his  usual  interest.  He  soon  lay 
down,  but  could  not  sleep,  and  mother  sent  for  Dr.  Ware,  who  seemed 
to  think  him  more  than  commonly  indisposed.  He  gave  him  calomel, 
and  ordered  him  to  live  upon  gruel.  That  evening  he  seemed  very 
miserable,  but  he  insisted  on  going  down  to  tea,  and  he  and  mother 
took  tea  together  in  the  parlor,  as  we  thought  the  dining  room  cold. 
In  the  evening,  I  read  to  him  for  the  last  time  in  his  accustomed  seat, 
passages  from  The  Diary  of  Lady  Willoughby.'  Charles  came  in  the 
evening,  and  thought  him  better.  That  night  I  slept  in  the  next 
room,  to  be  near.  At  about  two  o'clock,  mother  called  me,  and  said 
he  was  very  restless,  and  had  a  good  deal  of  pain  in  his  breast.  I 
rubbed  him  with  hot  spirit,  and  put  on  a  mustard  plaster,  which 
seemed  to  relieve  him  for  the  time.  While  I  was  doing  this,  my 
heart  failed  me,  it  was  such  a  new  thing  to  be  doing  this  for  him:  it 

1  Now  the  Right  Reverend  Horatio  Potter,  Bishop  of  New  York. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  365 


seemed  as  if  his  noble  frame  were  yielding  at  last.  He  went  to 
sleep  again,  but  in  the  morning  he  seemed  no  better,  and  to  have  no 
wish  to  leave  his  room.  He  was  exceedingly  restless,  and  could  get 
no  relief  from  change  of  position.  He  asked  if  George1  had  read 
prayers  with  us  since  he  had  been  sick,  and  expressed  a  wish  that  the 
service  should  not  be  omitted.  Mother  came  into  the  room.  He  said, 
'Come  here  and  sit  by  me ;  I  always  love  to  have  you  near.'  I  asked 
if  I  should  read  to  him.  He  said  yes ;  and  I  read  parts  of  the  fourth 
and  fifth  chapters  of  Hebrews.  Afterwards,  when  he  and  mother 
were  alone,  Charles  came  in  and  prayed  with  them.  He  lay  down,  as 
usual,  after  dinner,  with  mother  at  his  side.  In  the  afternoon, 
Marianne2  went  into  the  room,  and  found  dear  father  trying  to  get 
up,  but  he  did  not  seem  to  have  the  power.  She  was  frightened,  and 
called  me,  and  we  found  he  had  lost  the  use  of  his  limbs,  but  could 
not  comprehend  the  difficulty.  He  said  he  must  get  up,  and  seemed 
so  determined,  that,  with  the  aid  of  Charles,  we  got  him  into  (375) 
his  chair,  where  the  doctor  found  him,  and  persuaded  him  to  be  put 
on  the  bed  again;  and  leeches  were  soon  applied  to  his  head.  While 
the  doctor  was  attending  to  them,  he  turned  round  and  said,  'Why, 
doctor,  I  thought  only  old  women  put  on  leeches.'  After  this,  he  was 
wandering;  but  his  mind  could  always  be  recalled  by  questions,  which 
he  would  answer  in  a  way  which  showed  he  understood  them.  He 
was  throwing  his  arms  out  once,  as  he  often  did,  and  mother  asked 
him  what  he  wanted.  He  said,  'Nothing.'  She  said,  'Man  wants  but 
little  here  below.'  He  showed  that  his  observation  was  still  alive,  for 
he  immediately  finished  the  couplet:  'Nor  wants  that  little  long.' 
He  asked  Charles  to  pray  with  him  several  times,  and  intimated  his 
comfort  in  it.  When  asked  if  he  could  place  his  whole  trust  in  his 
Saviour,  he  said,  'What  other  trust  can  I  have,'  with  earnest  solem 
nity.  In  everything  he  said,  —  which  was  but  little,  for  he  spoke 
with  great  difficulty,  —  he  showed  great  humility,  but  a  firm  reliance 
on  the  merits  of  his  Savior.  His  eyes  were  generally  closed,  but 
occasionally  they  were  turned  up  with  an  earnest,  devout  look,  as  if 
in  prayer.  He  seemed  to  know  we  were  all  about  him,  and  often  car- 

1  His  eldest  son,  an  inmate  of  his  father's  family. 

2  His  youngest  daughter. 


366  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


ried  our  hands  to  his  lips,  and  put  his  arms  around  our  necks  and 
drew  us  down  to  him.  The  trial  of  helplessness,  from  his  great 
weight,  and  from  his  being  unused  to  be  taken  care  of,  must  have 
been  very  painful  to  him;  but  he  took  everything  without  complaint, 
and  with  perfect  gentleness  and  patience. 

Saturday,  the  14th,  his  breathing  seemed  to  be  difficult.  As  the 
forenoon  advanced,  it  grew  more  regular,  and  seemed  peculiar.  He 
was  less  conscious,  and  we  felt  that  death  was  approaching.  The 
family  were  all  summoned.  When  Charles  came  in,  he  made  an 
earnest  prayer,  commending  his  soul  to  his  Maker  and  Redeemer. 
He  made  it  close  to  his  ear.  He  asked  him  if  he  had  heard  and  un 
derstood  him;  he  pressed  his  hand,  and  tried  to  speak.  He  never 
spoke  again,  although  I  think  he  was  conscious  that  we  were  about 
him.  All  day  we  were  watching  that  beloved,  venerable  form,  think 
ing  that  each  breath  might  be  the  last.  It  did  stop  about  (376) 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Without  a  struggle  or  a  groan,  the  soul 
had  fled:  the  noble  form  was  left  beautiful  and  serene,  like  a  marble 
statue." 

Mr.  Mason's  disease  was  paralysis,  teminating  in  apoplexy.  He 
died  October  14th,  1848,  and  his  funeral  took  place,  October  17th. 
His  remains  were  laid  in  the  cemetery  at  Mount  Auburn,  after  serv 
ices  in  Grace  Church,  by  the  Rev.  Alexander  H.  Vinton,  D.  D.  A 
few  weeks  before  his  death,  he  had  driven  out  to  Mt.  Auburn  with 
his  wife,  and  pointed  out  the  spot  where  he  wished  to  be  laid. 

One  or  two  little  incidents  occurred  during  his  brief  last  illness 
which  were  characteristic  of  him.  His  son  Charles  asked  him  what 
kind  of  pain  he  had.  He  answered,  "I  don't  know  of  any  pain  that  is 
pleasant."  His  daughter  Mary  chancing  to  make  some  casual  re 
mark  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  not  intended  for  his  ear,  he  asked  what 
she  said,  "Nothing,  Sir,"  was  the  reply.  "Mary,  what  words  did  you 
use  with  which  to  say  nothing?"  was  his  rejoinder. 

No  memoir  of  Mr.  Mason  should  conclude  without  some  mention 
of  his  remarkable  personal  appearance.  In  his  case,  as  in  that  of  Dr. 
Johnson,  a  powerful  mind  was  inclosed  in  a  giant  frame.  Like  Saul, 
the  son  of  Kish,  he  towered  in  stature  above  all  his  fellows.  First  in 
Portsmouth,  and  afterwards  in  Boston,  he  was  the  tallest  man  who 
walked  the  streets.  In  his  prime,  when  he  stood  erect,  his  height 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  367 


was  six  feet  and  six  inches;  though  in  declining  life,  by  reason  of  a 
slight  habitual  stoop,  he  appeared  less  tall  than  he  really  was.  His 
frame,  slender  in  youth,  expanded  as  he  grew  older,  and  in  his  latter 
years  assumed  a  bulk  proportioned  to  his  height.  His  head,  well 
formed  and  really  large,  seemed  small  in  comparison  with  the  size 
of  his  person.  His  movements  were  slow;  he  used  no  gestures  in 
speaking;  and  so  far  as  the  body  was  concerned,  his  habits  were  in 
active.  His  powerful  constitution  and  temperate  habits  insured  him 
long  continued  and  vigorous  health  without  regular  exercise  or  any 
particular  rules  as  to  diet.  He  was  capable  of  severe  and  protracted 
toil  to  the  last.  Few  men  of  sixty-five  could  have  borne  as  he  did  the 
exhausting  strain  and  pressure  of  the  Avery  trial.  It  (377)  is  not 
work  that  kills,  but  worry ;  and  Mr.  Mason's  was  one  of  those  happy 
organizations  that  burn  none  of  the  oil  of  life  in  worrying  or  fretting. 

The  portrait  at  the  beginning  of  the  volume  is  a  photograph 
from  a  bust  by  Clevenger.  It  well  recalls  Mr.  Mason  to  those  who 
knew  him;  but  to  those  who  knew  him  not  it  hardly  reproduces  the 
calm  power  and  kindly  shrewdness  of  the  original. 

Those  who  have  read  the  preceding  pages  will  have  formed  a 
distinct  impression  of  what  manner  of  man  Mr.  Mason  was,  and  it 
only  remains  for  me  to  fill  up  the  outline  already  drawn,  and  set 
forth  more  in  detail  his  traits  of  mind  and  character.  In  doing  this 
I  shall  speak  both  from  my  own  observation  of  him,  and  from  the 
testimony  of  others  who  knew  him  longer  and  better. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  Mr.  Mason's  public  claims  to  re 
membrance,  rest  wholly  upon  his  merits  and  eminence  as  a  lawyer. 
There  has  hardly  been  a  man  in  our  country  of  his  general  intellec 
tual  force,  whose  labors  and  triumphs  were  so  exclusively  profes 
sional  as  his.  To  the  honors  of  literature  he  made  no  claim;  and 
though  under  favorable  conditions  he  might  have  won  enduring 
fame  as  a  statesman,  his  term  of  public  service  was  too  brief,  and 
fell  upon  too  unpropitious  times,  to  permit  him  to  entwine  his  name 
with  the  history  of  his  country. 

And  further  it  is  to  be  noted  that  Mr.  Mason  was  always  a  law 
yer,  and  never  a  judge.  The  function  of  a  judge  is  higher  than  that 
of  a  lawyer,  and  a  seat  on  the  bench  is  the  natural  reward  of  eminence 
at  the  bar :  it  is  always  so  in  England,  and  generally  so  in  this  coun- 


368  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


try,  unless  the  glittering  prizes  of  politics  prove  the  stronger  attrac 
tion.  The  fame  of  a  lawyer  is  at  once  local  in  its  range,  and  brief  in 
its  duration.  A  great  judge  lives  in  his  recorded  opinions ;  but  a  great 
lawyer,  a  brilliant  advocate,  lives  only  in  memory  and  tradition,  and 
soon  becomes  little  more  than  a  shining  name. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Mason  never  occupied  a  high  judi 
cial  position.1  He  had  all  the  powers  and  accomplishments  needed 
(378)  for  such  a  place;  such  as  learning,  powerful  logic,  patience, 
quickness,  calm  courage,  a  dignified  presence,  robust  health  and  con 
sequent  capacity  for  labor.  He  could  not  have  failed  to  make  a  great 
judge.  Had  he  not  been  too  old  at  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Mar 
shall,  there  was  no  man  in  the  country  more  worthy  to  succeed  that 
illustrious  magistrate. 

Mr.  Mason  was  a  great  lawyer,  perhaps  the  greatest  lawyer  that 
ever  practiced  at  the  bar  in  New  England.  But  when  we  call  a  man  a 
great  lawyer,  we  use  language  which  has  a  certain  degree  of  vague 
ness.  Chief  Justice  Parsons,  Judge  Story,  Mr.  Webster,  Chief  Jus 
tice  Shaw,  Mr,  Choate,  were  all  great  lawyers,  but  no  two  of  them 
were  alike.  Each  had  powers  and  faculties  peculiar  to  himself.  It 
is  with  lawyers  as  with  painters;  Raphael,  Titian,  Correggio,  Rem 
brandt,  were  great  painters;  but  they  differ  widely  in  their  charac 
teristics,  and  no  trained  eye  would  ever  mistake  a  work  of  one  for 
that  of  another.  For  those  who  did  not  know  Mr.  Mason,  we  must 
analyze  and  discriminate.  The  question  to  be  answered  is,  wherein 
did  he  differ  from  the  other  great  lawyers  who  were  his  contempo 
raries,  whether  on  the  bench  or  at  the  bar. 

Mr.  Mason's  superiority  as  a  lawyer  may  be  thus  stated:  that  of 
all  men  who  ever  practiced  law  in  New  England,  he  was  the  most  fully 
equipped  with  all  the  weapons  of  attack  and  defense  needed  in  the 
trial  of  causes.  It  is  but  putting  the  same  thing  in  another  form  to 
say  that  of  all  men  who  have  even  been  at  the  bar  in  New  England, 
he  was  the  most  formidable  opponent.  And  of  all  lawyers,  he  was  the 
most  successful;  that  is,  no  other  man  ever  tried  so  many  cases  and 
lost  so  few,  in  proportion  to  the  whole  number  that  he  tried.  There 
was  nothing  which  a  client  ever  wants  a  lawyer  to  do  for  him  which 
Mr.  Mason  could  not  do  as  well  as  any,  and  better  than  most.  No  man 

1  It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Mason  declined  the  post  of  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Superior  Court  of  New  Hampshire.  See  page  152.  (Edition  of  1873.) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  369 


could  argue  a  legal  question  before  a  court  with  more  learning  and 
power.  No  man  could  try  a  cause  with  more  tact,  judgment,  and 
skill.  Though  not  eloquent,  in  the  common  acceptation  of  that  term, 
no  man  could  address  a  jury  more  persuasively  and  effectively.  No 
man's  opinions  as  chamber  counsel,  whether  (379)  oral  or  written, 
were  more  carefully  considered  or  wiser.  No  man  in  all  the  depart 
ments  of  professional  life  ever  made  fewer  mistakes. 

And  what  were  the  causes  of  Mr.  Mason's  success  as  a  lawyer? 
what  were  the  elements  of  his  superiority?  what  were  the  qualities 
which  gave  him  such  position  and  influence  at  the  bar?  These 
questions  require  answers  somewhat  in  detail. 

Of  course,  in  the  composition  of  a  great  lawyer,  learning  is  an 
essential  element.  A  man  may  be  learned  in  the  law  and,  yet  from 
want  of  natural  force,  not  be  a  great  lawyer;  but  no  man  can  be  a 
great  lawyer  without  learning.  Mr.  Mason's  learning  was  confined  to 
the  common  law.  Though  a  mind  like  his  was  eminently  fitted  to 
grasp  and  apply  the  principles  of  equity  jurisprudence,  yet  as  he 
came  late  in  life  to  the  study  of  the  subject,  he  never  was  a  great 
equity  lawyer;  but  within  the  range  of  the  common  law,  his  learning 
was  profound,  various,  exact,  and  ready.  His  attainments  seemed  less 
than  they  were,  because  he  never  cared  to  make  a  display  of  them. 
He  disdained  a  parade  of  cheap  learning.  He  never  incumbered  his 
briefs  with  needless  authorities.  He  took  it  for  granted  that  the  court 
he  was  addressing  was  not  ignorant  of  the  law.  His  arguments  were 
remarkable  for  the  skill  and  power  with  which  the  rules  of  law  were 
applied  to  the  case  in  hand.  That  the  stream  of  legal  learning  had 
passed  over  his  mind  was  shown  by  its  general  fertility  in  legal  prin 
ciples  and  analogies.  Thus,  the  more  learning  a  judge  had,  the  more 
would  he  appreciate  Mr.  Mason's  arguments. 

And  this  affluent  learning  was  accompanied  by  a  power  of  rea 
soning  in  which  few  equalled  and  none  surpassed  him.  He  was  so 
strong  in  argument  and  so  clear  in  statement,  his  native  legal  in 
stincts  were  so  sound,  that  he  would  have  been  heard  with  respect 
even  if  his  learning  had  been  meagre.  His  language  was  plain  but 
appropriate,  and  he  never  used  a  superfluous  word. 

Learning,  logical  power,  and  clearness  of  statement,  will  make  a 
great  lawyer,  will  secure  to  their  possessor  the  confidence  of  his  (380) 
clients  and  the  ear  of  the  court;  but  a  man  may  have  all  these  and 


370  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


yet  be  without  skill  in  the  trial  of  causes,  and  powerless  before  a 
jury.  But  here  Mr.  Mason  was  quite  as  strong  as  in  the  examina 
tion  and  discussion  of  purely  legal  questions,  and  this  too  without 
the  accomplishment  of  brilliant  eloquence.  But  then  he  had  every 
quality  needed  in  the  trial  of  causes,  eloquence  alone  excepted. 

In  the  conduct  of  causes  before  a  jury  the  most  important  ele 
ment  is  judgment,  that  which  is  also  the  most  important  element  in 
the  conduct  of  life.  Without  judgment,  learning  is  cold,  the  elo 
quence  is  a  light  which  is  quite  as  likely  to  lead  astray  as  to  lead 
aright.  Causes  are  won  not  by  brilliant  strokes  but  by  the  continuous 
exercise  of  skill,  tact,  and  discretion.  Erskine,  the  most  eminent 
of  English  advocates,  and  Choate,1  the  most  eminent  of  American 
advocates,  were  quite  as  remarkable  for  judgment  in  the  trial  of 

1  "Rufus  Choate  is  the  only  advocate  I  ever  heard  who  had  the  imperial  power 
which  would  subdue  an  unwilling  and  hostile  jury.  His  power  over  them  seemed 
like  the  fascination  of  a  bird  for  a  snake.  Of  course,  he  couldn't  do  this  with 
able  judges,  although  all  judges  who  listened  to  him  would,  I  think,  agree  that  he 
was  as  persuasive  a  reasoner  as  ever  lived.  But  with  inferior  magistrates  and 
juries,  however  determined  the  charmer,  he  was  irresistible.  There  are  very  few 
important  cases  recorded  that  Choate  lost.  *  *  *  Next  to  Webster  himself,  the 
foremost  forensic  orator  of  modern  times,  against  whose  imperial  eloquence  no 
human  understanding,  either  on  the  bench  or  in  the  jury  box,  seemed  to  be 
proof.  *  *  *  No  gambler  ever  hankered  for  the  feverish  delight  of  the  gaming' 
table  as  Choate  did  for  the  absorbing  game,  half  chance,  half  skill,  where  twelve 
human  dice  must  all  turn  up  together  one  way,  or  there  is  no  victory."  —  Geo.  Pi. 
Hoar's  Autobiography  of  Seventy  Years,  230,  350  and  356. 

Matt  H.  Carpenter,  who  read  law  with  Choate,  in  drawing  a  comparison  be 
tween  Webster  and  Choate,  says: —  "Choate  always  stood  in  awe  of  Webster,  and 
spent  nights  in  preparation  when  about  to  contend  with  him  at  the  bar.  This  I 
never  could  understand;  as  a  mere  lawyer,  I  think  Choate  as  much  the  superior 
of  Webster  as  Webster  was  the  superior  of  lawyers  generally.  His  knowledge  of 
the  law,  his  readiness  in  using  all  his  resources,  legal,  literary,  historical,  or  po 
etical,  his  power  of  advocacy,  the  magnetism  of  his  presence  and  the  absolute  en 
chantment  in  which  he  wrapt  both  court  and  jury  never  was  equalled  in  any 
other  man,  I  believe."  —  Jos.  Neilson's  Memoirs  of  Rufus  Choate,  295. 

"Having  been  for  more  than  twenty  years  his  antagonist  in  forensic  strug 
gles,  at  least,  I  believe,  as  frequently  as  any  other  member  of  the  Boston  Bar,  I 
may  be  competent  to  bear  witness  to  his  peculiar  abilities,  resources  and  manners 
in  professional  services.  And  having,  in  the  varied  experiences  of  nearly  forty 
years,  not  infrequently  encountered  some  of  the  giants  of  the  law,  whose  lives 
and  memories  throughout  the  land  —  among  whom  I  may  include  the  honored 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  371 


cases  as  for  powerful  and  captivating  eloquence,  and  this  was  the 
preeminent  quality  of  Scarlett,  the  most  successful  of  English  advo 
cates,  who  won  more  verdicts  in  proportion  to  the  cases  he  tried 
than  even  Erskine. 

In  this  primal  quality  of  judgment  Mr.  Mason  had  no  superior. 
From  the  beginning  of  a  case  to  the  end  he  never  made  a  mistake. 
He  left  nothing  undone  which  should  be  done :  he  did  nothing  which 
should  be  left  undone.  He  never  asked  an  injudicious  question; 
he  never  protracted  the  examination  of  a  witness  to  a  needless 
length,  and  yet  he  never  failed  to  extract  from  him  all  that  was 
pertinent  to  the  matter  in  hand.  And  he  was  as  vigilant  as  he  was 
judicious.  Under  a  manner  calm  and  seemingly  impassive,  he  was 
all  eye  and  all  ear.  Every  expression  of  a  witness's  face,  every  tone 
of  his  voice,  was  carefully  noted.  And  the  impression  made  by  the 
events  of  the  trial,  both  upon  the  court  and  the  jury,  was  also  sedu 
lously  watched. 

His  addresses  to  the  jury  always  commanded  their  strict  atten 
tion,  from  their  strength,  clearness,  and  point.  He  understood  the 
common  mind,  and  knew  how  to  hit  it  between  wind  and  water. 
His  reasoning  was  close  yet  easily  followed ;  he  presented  his  facts 
(381)  with  great  skill;  his  language  was  plain,  but  with  a  certain 
idiomatic  point  and  flavor  well  suited  for  popular  effect.  He  never 
wearied  his  compulsory  audience  by  talking  too  long;  and  his  easy 
conversational  tone  established  at  once  agreeable  relations  between 
him  and  them.  And  he  had  from  nature  a  gift  which  did  him  good 
service  on  such  occasions,  and  this  was  his  keen  perception  of  the 
ludicrous  and  his  quiet  vein  of  sarcasm.  This  power  was  always 
under  the  control  of  sound  judgment  and  good  taste,  but  it  gave  a 
peculiar  seasoning  to  his  arguments  and  helped  to  fix  the  attention 
of  the  jury.  They  expected  these  little  touches  of  humor  to  come 

names  of  Prescott,  Mason,  Hubbard,  Webster,  Dexter,  and  others  among  the 
dead,  and  those  others  yet  with  us,  to  share  in  the  sorrows  of  this  hour  —  I  do  no 
injustice  to  the  living  or  the  dead  in  saying  that,  for  the  peculiar  powers  de 
sirable  for  a  lawyer  and  advocate,  for  combination  of  accurate  memory,  logical 
acumen,  vivid  imagination,  profound  learning  in  the  law,  exuberance  of  literary 
knowledge,  and  command  of  language,  united  with  strategic  skill,  I  should  place 
him  at  the  head  of  all  whom  I  have  ever  seen  in  the  management  of  a  cause  at 
the  bar."  —  Chas.  G.  Loring,  at  Memorial  Meeting  of  the  Boston  Bar. 
—25 


372  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


in  occasionally,  and  did  not  permit  their  thoughts  to  stray,  lest  per 
chance  they  might  lose  some  of  them.1 

He  never  approached  the  trial  of  a  case,  however  unimportant, 
without  the  most  careful  preparation.  He  never  put  a  witness  on 
the  stand  whom  he  had  not  thoroughly  examined  beforehand.  Thus 
he  was  rarely  taken  by  surprise,  or  had  occasion  to  change  front  in 
the  face  of  his  enemy.  And  all  his  intellectual  powers  had  the  sup 
port  of  a  calm  and  even  temperament.  Nothing  ruffled  or  discom 
posed  him;  he  never  lost  his  temper  or  his  self-possession,  and  no 
one  could  have  judged  from  his  face  and  manner  whether  the  cur 
rent  of  the  case  was  setting  against  him  or  for  him. 

As  an  illustration  of  Mr.  Mason's  readiness  and  quickness  in  the 
trial  of  causes,  I  may  mention  here  a  little  incident  told  me  by  the 
gentleman  who  was  acting  as  his  junior  at  the  time.  In  the  course 
of  the  examination  of  an  important  witness  before  a  Boston  jury, 
a  question  was  asked  by  the  presiding  judge.  Mr.  Mason  instantly 
rose,  and,  after  checking  the  witness,  said  to  the  court:  "May  it  (382) 
please  your  Honor,  I  should  like  to  inquire  on  whose  side  you  asked 
that  question.  If  it  is  on  our  side  we  do  not  want  it  put,  and  if  it  is 
on  the  other  side,  the  answer  would  not  be  legal  evidence.'' 

Of  all  Mr.  Mason's  professional  accomplishments,  the  popular 
mind  was  most  impressed  with  his  skill  in  cross-examination  oi 
witnesses.51  Most  of  the  traditional  stories  current  about  him  turn 
upon  his  triumphs  in  this  department,  wherein  he  undoubtedly  never 
had  an  equal  in  the  annals  of  the  New  England  bar.  One  of  those 
current  in  my  young  days  was  about  his  unfrocking  and  demolish- 

3  "I  well  recollect  a  description  Mr.  Webster  once  gave  me  of  a  change  which 
he  said  he  deliberately  made  in  his  own  style  of  speaking  and  writing.  He  ob 
served  that  before  he  went  to  Portsmouth  his  style  was  florid,  —  he  even  used  the 
word  'vicious/  —  and  that  he  was  apt  to  make  longer  sentences,  and  use  larger 
words,  than  was  needful.  He  soon  began,  however,  to  notice  that  Mr.  Mason  was, 
as  he  expressed  it,  'a  cause-getting  man.'  'He  had  a  habit,'  said  Mr.  Webster,  'of 
standing  quite  near  to  the  jury,  so  that  he  might  have  laid  his  finger  on  the  fore 
man's  nose;  and  then  he  talked  to  them  in  a  plain  conversational  way,  in  short 
sentences,  and  using  no  word  that  was  not  level  to  the  comprehension  of  the  least 
educated  man  on  the  panel.  This  led  me  to  examine  my  own  style,  and  I  set  about 
reforming  it  altogether.'  "  —  Curtis's  Life  of  Webster,  vol.  i,  p.  90.  . 

a  In  the  Life  and  Letters  of  George  Ticknor,  Vol.  1,  pp.  122-3,  Mr.  T.  says  in 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  373 


ing  a  man  who,  to  give  more  effect  to  his  false  testimony,  had  ar 
rayed  himself  for  the  nonce  in  the  garb  of  a  Quaker.  It  was  long 
remembered  in  the  region  where  it  happened  as  an  exciting  and 
amusing  scene ;  amusing,  at  least,  to  every  one  but  the  victim. 

Mr.  Mason's  method  in  cross-examination  was  peculiar.  Infe 
rior  artists  in  this  department  are  apt  to  approach  their  opponent's 
witness  in  a  way  which  alarms  him  if  he  be  timid,  and  provokes  him 
if  he  be  bold.  The  first  questions  are  a  sort  of  declaration  of  war. 
The  cross-examination  then  becomes  a  keen  encounter  of  wits  if  the 
witness  be  resolute  and  self-possessed,  from  which,  however  much 
the  spectators  may  be  amused,  the  client's  cause  gains  but  little.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  witness  be  dull  and  with  no  skill  in  verbal 
fence,  the  instincts  of  self-preservation  will  prompt  him  to  take 
refuge  in  silence,  and  say  as  little  as  he  can. 

Mr.  Mason  began  in  a  different  fashion,  when  it  was  his  cue  to 
break  down  a  witness  by  cross-examination.  He  did  not  frighten  or 
bully  him.  His  first  questions  were  put  in  a  tone  and  manner  which 
lulled  his  apprehensions  and  threw  him  off  his  guard.  They  were 

a  letter  from  Frankfort,  Germany,  Mar.  29,  1817:  "Baron  Gagern,  the  Minister 
of  the  King  of  Holland  for  Luxembourg,  reminded  me  of  Jeremiah  Mason,  for  the 
moment  I  entered  the  room  he  came  up  to  me  and  began  to  question  me  about  my 
country,  its  great  men,  etc.,  like  a  witness  on  the  stand,  till  I  began  to  feel  almost 
uncomfortable  at  this  kind  of  interlocutory  thumb-screwing;  but  when  he  had 
learned  all  he  wanted  to  —  and  his  questions  were  very  shrewd,  and  showed  he 
knew  what  he  was  about  —  I  found  him  an  extremely  pleasant,  instructive  man, 
etc." 

In  a  note  to  the  same  work,  the  editor,  Mr.  Ticknor,  says:  "On  a  visit  to 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.  (This  was  before  Mr.  Ticknor's  visit  to  Europe,  when  twenty- 
six  years  of  age),  I  carried  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Mr.  Jeremiah  Mason,  a 
distinguished  lawyer  of  that  city,  and  was  invited  to  tea.  Mr.  Mason  asked  me 
endless  questions,  and  I  grew  so  tired  and  vexed,  that  I  left  the  house,  I 
said  to  myself  that  I  never  would  pass  through  that  man's  door  again.  The  next 
day  I  met  Mr.  Mason  at  dinner  at  Mr.  Webster's,  when  the  style  of  address  was 
quite  changed,  and  I  never  after  regretted  knowing  Mr.  Mason." 

During  Mr.  Ticknor's  absence  in  Europe,  his  journal  was  for  a  time  in  the 
hands  of  his  friend,  Mr.  N.  A.  Haven,  of  Portsmouth.  Mr.  Mason  insisted  on 
seeing  it.  The  passage  above,  comparing  Baron  Gagern  to  Mr.  Mason  in  his 
style  of  questioning,  met  his  eye.  Years  afterward,  when  acquaintance  had 
grown  into  friendship,  Mr.  Mason  mentioned  that  he  had  read  that  passage, 
which  drew  forth  a  confession  about  the  first  call,  and  Mr.  Mason  replied  that  he 
always  questioned  young  men  so. 


374  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


generally  such  as  a  witness  would  readily  answer,  being  seemingly 
remote  from  the  matter  in  hand.  Easy  relations  would  thus  be  es 
tablished  between  the  questioner  and  the  respondent,  and  the  latter 
would  perhaps  felicitate  himself  in  being  so  gently  dealt  with  by  one 
who  had  the  reputation  of  being  so  searching  and  formidable  in 
cross-examination;  gradually  the  inquiries  became  more  convergent 
and  consecutive ;  the  folds  began  to  tighten,  and  soonor  or  later  a 
(383)  point  was  reached  when  the  witness  supposing  him  always 
not  to  be  speaking  the  truth,  would  pause  in  embarrassment  and  re 
flect  whether  he  were  telling  a  consistent  story,  and  this,  if  continued, 
would  be  fatal  to  him. 

Of  course,  such  a  process  would  be  of  no  avail,  and  even  injudi 
cious,  in  the  case  of  an  honest  witness.  Mr.  Mason  had  too  much 
good  sense  and  too  much  experience  not  to  know  that  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten  the  attempt  to  break  down  a  witness  who  is  telling  the 
truth,  though  in  a  clumsy  way,  only  recoils  on  the  head  of  him  who 
makes  it.  But  his  knowledge  of  men  was  so  great,  his  penetration 
so  keen,  his  power  of  interpreting  the  signs  of  thoughts  so  remark 
able,  that  he  rarely  or  never  made  a  mistake  as  to  a  witness's  purpose 
and  intent. 

I  am  indebted  to  my  friend  Mr.  John  J.  Clarke,  of  the  Boston 
bar,  for  an  interesting  incident  in  Mr.  Mason's  professional  life,  es 
pecially  illustrating  his  peculiar  power  in  the  cross-examination  of 
witnesses.  Soon  after  his  removal  to  Boston,  he  was  retained  as 
senior  counsel  by  Mr.  Clarke,  in  the  trial  of  an  appeal  from  a  de 
cree  of  the  judge  of  probate  for  the  County  of  Middlesex,  sustain 
ing  the  will  of  a  man  who  had  recently  died  in  one  of  the  towns  in 
that  county.  The  issue  raised  by  the  appeal  was  upon  the  sanity 
of  the  testator  at  the  time  of  the  execution  of  the  will.  It  presented 
a  nice  question  for  the  consideration  of  the  jury,  for  he  had  died 
of  delirium  tremens,  and  the  will  was  executed  not  long  before  his 
death;  and  though  there  were  some  periods  during  the  last  days  of 
his  life  when  he  was  hardly  of  disposing  mind  and  memory,  yet 
there  were  unquestionably  others  when  he  was  entirely  competent 
to  make  a  will,  and  the  point  to  be  determined  was  as  to  his  sanity 
at  the  time  the  will  was  executed. 

Mr.  Justice  Wilde  presided  at  the  trial,  which  lasted  three  days. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  375 


It  excited  much  interest,  and  the  court-room  was  crowded  with 
spectators  from  first  to  last.  The  leading  counsel  for  the  heirs  at 
law,  who  sought  to  impeach  the  will,  was  Mr.  Hoar,a  of  Concord, 
whose  power  over  a  Middlesex  jury,  as  was  well  known,  was  so  (384) 
great  as  to  give  to  every  cause  in  which  he  was  retained  a  decided 
vantage-ground  at  the  start. 

The  principal  witness  in  support  of  the  will  was  a  woman  who 
acted  as  nurse  to  the  deceased  in  his  last  illness.  She  was  an  intel 
ligent  person,  and  Mr.  Mason  believed  if  she  made  her  statements 
on  the  stand,  under  oath,  as  clearly  and  strongly  as  she  had  when 
questioned  by  counsel  in  their  preparation  of  the  case,  that  her 
testimony  would  be  well  nigh  conclusive. 

The  principal  witness  against  the  will  was  an  acquaintance,  and 

a  "E.  Rockwood  Hoar,  when  a  supreme  judge  of  Massachusetts,  was  appoint 
ed  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  by  Grant.  He  sprang  from  the  'old 
est  and  purest  English  New  England  stock.'  Impressing  his  Massachusetts  com 
panions  as  'a  typical  New  Englander,  essentially  Puritan/  he  seemed  to  one 
apart  from  that  community  a  man  of  broad  intelligence  and  sympathy.  It  was 
'a  sense  of  humor  and  spirit  of  kindliness'  that  made  him  a  citizen  of  the  world 
and  demonstrated  to  the  guest  of  his  home  in  Concord  that  'the  noble  frugality 
and  quiet  dignity'  of  his  little  town  might  cradle  the  wildest  views  of  life.  In 
Washington  during  his  term  of  office  his  manners  were  thought  brusque,  but  in 
Concord  they  were  always  marked  by  gentle  considerateness.  'Emerson  loved 
him'  and  Lowell,  in  a  private  letter  to  Nordhoff,  paid  him  this  tribute:  'You 
cannot  set  too  high  a  value  on  the  character  of  Judge  Hoar.  The  extraordinary 
quickness  and  acuteness,  the  flash  of  his  mind  (which  I  never  saw  matched,  but  in 
Dr.  Holmes)  have  dazzled  and  bewildered  some  people  so  that  they  were  blind 
to  his  solid  qualities.  Moreover,  you  know  there  are  people  who  are  afraid  of 
wit  and  cannot  see  wisdom  unless  in  the  deliberate  movement  of  thought  whose 
every  step  they  can  accompany.  I  have  known  Mr.  Hoar  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  intimately  for  twenty,  and  it  is  the  solidity  of  the  man,  his  courage  and  his 
integrity  that  I  value  most  highly.'  J.  D.  Cox,  whose  association  with  him  in  the 
Cabinet  was  the  beginning  of  a  life-long  friendship,  wrote  that  'a  heartier  accord 
with  all  that  is  right  and  true,  a  warmer  sympathy  with  whatever  makes  for 
progress  and  tends  to  level  men  upward,  was  never  seen.'  " — 6  Jas.  Ford  Rhodes' 
United  States  History,  239-40. 

E.  Rockwood  Hoar  (1816-1895),  Massachusetts,  was  a  Representative  in 
Congress;  a  graduate  of  Harvard;  State  Senator  of  Massachusetts;  six  years 
Judge  of  Common  Pleas  Court;  ten  years  Judge  of  Massachusetts  Supreme 
Court;  and  a  member  of  the  Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  fourteen  years 
(1868-82). 


376  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


occasionally  a  boon  companion,  of  the  testator.  Mr.  Clarke  had  rea 
son  to  believe  that  he  was  prepared  to  swear  falsely,  and  that  he 
could  be  broken  down  by  such  a  cross-examination  as  Mr.  Mason 
was  able  to  administer,  and  this  was  one  of  the  reasons  which  de 
termined  him  in  the  choice  of  a  senior  counsel.  The  case  was  open 
ed  on  behalf  of  the  heirs  at  law,  as  they  had  taken  the  appeal.  Two 
or  three  of  their  witnesses,  not  being  of  any  great  importance,  were 
cross-examined  by  Mr.  Clarke.  But  when  the  principal  witness 
above  mentioned  was  put  upon  the  stand,  Mr.  Clarke  whispered  to 
Mr.  Mason,  and  said  that  he  .should  devolve  upon  him  the  cross- 
examination  of  this  witness. 

When  the  direct  examination,  which  made  a  favorable  impres 
sion,  had  been  concluded,  Mr.  Mason  asked  permission  for  a  brief 
conference  with  his  junior.  Turning  to  Mr.  Clarke,  he  said,  "Is  the 
nurse  in  court?"  Mr.  Clarke  replied  that  she  was.  "Where  is  she?" 
rejoined  Mr.  Mason ;  "point  her  out  to  me."  Mr.  Clarke  pointed 
her  out  accordingly,  in  a  distant  part  of  the  court-house.  "Go  to 
her,"  continued  Mr.  Mason,  "and  see  if  she  is  ready  to  swear  to  all 
that  she  has  told  you."  Mr.  Clarke,  reluctant  to  draw  upon  himself 
the  gaze  of  the  whole  court-house  by  so  novel  a  procedure,  made 
some  objection,  but  Mr.  Mason  said  very  decidely,  "Do  as  I  desire 
you,  and  leave  the  responsibility  with  me."  Mr.  Clarke  accordingly 
made  his  way  with  some  difficulty  through  the  throng,  spoke  with 
the  witness  a  few  moments,  and  came  back  and  reported  to  his  senior 
that  all  was  right.  (385) 

Mr.  Mason  then  began  his  cross-examination.  In  an  easy,  con 
versational,  and  seemingly  friendly  tone  he  asked  a  number  of  ques 
tions  which  had  little  to  do  with  the  case,  with  a  view  to  disarm  the 
witness's  suspicions,  and  put  him  off  his  guard.  To  this  end,  also, 
he  occasionally  interspersed  a  remark  or  two  commendatory  of  the 
witness's  manner  and  readiness  in  replying.  This  continued  for  a 
brief  season,  when  Mr.  Hoar  objected  to  the  cross-examination  as  ir 
relevant,  but  the  judge  allowed  it  to  go  on.  A  few  moments  later, 
the  objection  was  renewed,  and  again  overruled.  After  a  short  in 
terval  Mr.  Hoar  arose,  and  with  great  earnestness  and  emphasis  ap 
pealed  to  the  court  for  the  third  time,  protested  against  a  course  of 
examination  which  was  wasting  the  time  of  the  court  in  inquiries 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  377 


which  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter  in  hand,  and  insisted  that 
Mr.  Mason  should  state  the  purpose  for  which  his  questions  were 
asked.  Judge  Wilde  replied  that  it  was  not  usual  to  restrict  a  law 
yer  of  Mr.  Mason's  experience  in  the  cross-examination  of  a  witness ; 
that  to  state  the  purpose  for  which  a  question  was  asked  would 
often  defeat  such  purpose,  and  that  all  that  could  be  asked  of  Mr. 
Mason  was  to  say  that  he  had  an  object  in  his  inquiries.  Mr.  Mason 
then  rose,  and  said  that,  upon  his  honor,  every  question  he  had  put 
was  put  with  a  purpose,  and  that  this  purpose  would  be  revealed  in 
due  season. 

After  this  no  further  interruption  took  place,  and  the  cross- 
examination  went  on  some  time  longer,  and  had  apparently  been 
brought  to  a  close,  and  the  witness  had  begun  to  congratulate  him 
self  that  his  fiery  ordeal  had  been  passed  without  harm.  After  a 
moment's  pause,  Mr.  Mason  rose,  and  slowly  approaching  him, 
said,  "Mr.  Witness,  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  frankness  and 
fullness  with  which  you  have  answered  my  questions,  and  I  have 
only  one  more  to  ask,  and  will  then  dismiss  you."  He  then  put  to 
him  a  question,  to  which  the  whole  previous  examination  had  been 
introductory,  and  which  was  so  adroitly  framed  that  he  could  not 
answer  it  in  any  way  without  contradicting  some  important  state 
ment  previously  made.  The  witness  saw  at  once  the  trap  into  which 
he  had  fallen,  (386)  and  was  silent.  He  trembled,  turned  deadly 
pale,  his  knees  shook,  and  he  seemed  ready  to  faint.  Mr.  Mason 
asked  him  if  he  had  understood  the  question.  Still  no  reply,  and 
after  a  long  pause,  during  which  there  was  the  silence  of  death 
through  the  court-house,  Mr.  Mason  said,  "You  may  step  down,  sir." 
It  is  needless  to  add  that  this  scene  not  only  destroyed  the  value  of 
his  testimony,  but  essentially  damaged  the  appellant's  case.  The 
result  of  the  trial  was  a  verdict  in  favor  of  the  will. 

The  incident  made  an  impression  upon  Mr.  Clarke  which  the 
lapse  of  forty  years  has  not  effaced,  and  he  has  told  me  that  in  the 
whole  course  of  his  professional  life  he  had  seen  no  parallel  to  the 
skill  and  power  displayed  by  Mr.  Mason  on  this  occasion. 

Some  lawyers,  especially  if  young  and  fond  of  popular  applause, 
are  apt  to  make  the  trial  of  a  cause  a  sort  of  dramatic  entertain 
ment,  for  the  benefit  of  the  bystanders,  and  their  own  honor  and 


378  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


glory.  There  is  a  temptation  to  do  this  because  there  is  some  re 
semblance  between  the  course  of  an  exciting  trial  and  that  of  a  play, 
and  incidents  occur  in  courts  of  justice  which  recall  the  unexpected 
turns  and  surprises  of  the  stage.  But  in  proportion  as  the  advo 
cate  yields  to  this  temptation  does  he  endanger  the  cause  of  his 
client.  Mr.  Mason  was  never  for  a  moment  drawn  aside  from  the 
straight  path  of  professional  duty  by  the  force  of  this  attraction.  He 
had  no  other  object  in  view  than  to  gain  a  verdict.  He  took  cogni 
zance  of  none  but  the  judge  and  the  jury.  The  bystanders  were  no 
more  to  him  than  if  they  had  been  so  many  wooden  images.  He 
never  asked  a  question  or  made  a  remark  that  was  prompted  by 
their  presence.  To  the  judgment  they  might  form  of  his  conduct 
of  a  case  his  indifference  was  supreme. 

I  once  asked  an  eminent  member  of  the  bar,  still  living,  who  in 
his  early  practice  had  had  frequent  professional  relations  with  Mr. 
Mason,  wherein  he  excelled  the  other  distinguished  lawyers  he  had 
known.  He  replied,  that  in  addition  to  learning,  general  force  of 
mind,  and  extraordinary  power  in  cross  examination,  Mr.  Mason 
surpassed  all  men  he  had  ever  consulted  in  the  instinctive  readiness 
(387)  with  which  he  would  point  out  the  rules  and  principles  of  law 
applicable  to  a  given  statement  of  facts.  When  a  case  was  submit 
ted  to  him,  he  would  require  the  facts  and  circumstances  to  be  fully 
communicated,  asking  many  questions  to  this  end,  and  then,  in 
stantly,  would  indicate  the  path  of  inquiry  in  which  the  law  govern 
ing  the  question  was  to  be  sought.  My  informant  added  that  he  had 
sometimes  been  to  him  with  a  case  on  which  he  had  read  and  thought 
for  three  or  four  days  without  coming  to  any  definite  conclusion, 
and  that  Mr.  Mason,  in  a  few  words  would  furnish  the  key  he  had 
been  seeking,  and  as  with  a  lightning  flash  disperse  the  darkness  in 
which  he  had  been  groping. 

Though  Mr.  Mason's  time  and  powers  were  almost  wholly  given 
to  the  study  and  practice  of  the  law,  his  mind  had  too  much  orig 
inal  force  to  be  dwarfed  or  cramped  thereby.  There  was  nothing  in 
him  of  professional  pedantry  or  professional  narrowness.  He  had 
read  a  good  deal  among  the  best  writers  in  English  literature,  and 
had  wasted  no  time  upon  worthless  books.  With  the  history,  espe 
cially  the  political  history,  of  his  own  country,  he  was  very  familiar. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  379 


Every  mind  has  its  own  laws  and  conditions  of  growth.  Some 
find  appropriate  food  in  the  study  of  books,  others  in  the  observa 
tion  of  life  and  the  study  of  men.  Mr.  Mason's  was  of  the  latter  class. 
He  preferred  what  Bacon  calls  discourse  to  studies.  He  had  not 
his  friend  Chief  Justice  Parsons'  omnivorous  passion  for  books.  In 
his  leisure  hours  he  preferred  to  talk  with  a  friend  to  shutting  him 
self  up  in  his  study  to  converse  with  an  author.  He  was  given  to  the 
asking  of  questions,  as  has  before  been  said,  and  there  is  in  one  of 
Bacon's  Essays  a  passage  on  this  habit  which  fits  Mr.  Mason  as 
much  as  if  it  had  been  written  for  him:  "He  that  questioneth  much 
shall  learn  much,  and  content  much,  but  especially  if  he  apply  his 
questions  to  the  skill  of  the  persons  whom  he  asketh,  for  he  shall 
give  them  occasion  to  please  themselves  in  speaking,  and  himself  shall 
continually  gather  knowledge."  As  I  recall  Mr.  Mason,  he  seemed  to 
me  the  wisest  man  I  have  ever  personally  known ;  that  is,  whose  judg 
ment  was  the  most  sound,  whose  (388)  sagacity  was  the  most  un 
erring,  whose  inferences  from  facts  «nd  events  were  the  most  cor 
rect. 

Though  Mr.  Mason  was  by  natural  endowments  admirably  fitted 
for  the  law,  I  do  not  think  he  would  have  missed  his  vocation  had 
he  been  trained  to  some  other  calling.  Had  he  been  a  merchant  or 
a  manufacturer,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  would  have  been 
successful  and  prosperous.  What  Livy  says  of  the  elder  Cato,  is 
exactly  applicable  to  him:  "In  hoc  viro  tanta  vis  animi  igeniique  fuit, 
ut  quocunque  loco  natus  esset,  fortunam  ipse  facturus  fuisse  videre- 
tur."  (In  this  man  so  great  was  the  strength  of  mind  and  genius  as 
that  in  whatsoever  place  he  had  been  born,  he  would  have  been  seen 
to  have  made  his  fortune.) 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  in  politics  Mr.  Mason  was  a 
Federalist  of  the  straightest  sect;  that  is,  he  held  all  the  faith  and 
creed  of  the  Federal  party,  without  reserve  or  qualification.  But 
being  a  wise  man,  and  a  man  of  calm  temperament,  he  never  went 
to  extremes,  whether  in  opinion  or  conduct.  During  the  war  of  1812, 
his  course  was  entirely  patriotic.  He  never  gave  his  hand  to  the 
violent  expressions  and  unwise  steps  into  which  some  good  men  of 
the  Federal  party  were  hurried  by  the  warmth  of  opposition.  He 


380  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


would,  for  instance,  assuredly  have  advised  against  the  Hartford 
Convention,  had  he  been  consulted  upon  the  subject. 

In  all  free  countries  there  are  two  natural  parties, — the  party 
of  progress  and  the  party  of  stability ;  and  the  history  of  every  free 
country  is  a  record  of  the  struggle  between  these  two  parties.  Mr. 
Mason  belonged  to  the  latter  of  these  parties.  By  nature  and  by 
education  alike  he  was  a  conservative.  Any  where,  and  under  any 
conditions,  he  would  have  been  such.  In  England  he  would  have 
been  a  strong  but  not  a  bigoted  tory.  By  his  natural  instincts  he 
was  averse  to  innovation,  and  inclined  to  walk  in  the  old  ways.  He 
had  little  confidence  in  popular  judgments,  whether  upon  political 
or  general  questions;  and,  as  will  have  been  seen,  was  inclined  to 
take  rather  desponding  views  on  public  affairs.  He  certainly  did 
not  believe  that  there  was  to  be  found  in  universal  suffrage  a  solu 
tion  of  all  political  problems  and  a  cure  for  all  political  diseases. 
His  political  convictions  were  modified  and  colored  by  his  profes 
sional  (389)  experiences.  His  immense  practice  brought  him  into 
constant  contact  with  the  weak  side  of  human  nature,  with  its  errors 
of  judgment,  its  infirmities,  its  mistakes,  its  want  of  moral  resolu 
tion  ;  and  he  could  not  believe  that  wisdom  would  be  evolved  from  an 
aggregation  of  men,  most  of  whom  were  not  wise,  or  virtue  from  an 
aggregation  of  men  many  of  whom  were  not  good.  Like  all  the 
able  and  excellent  men  who  belonged  to  the  old  Federal  party,  his 
object  was  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  general  government,  to 
uphold  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  and  the  judiciary 
generally,  to  guard  rights  and  property  against  popular  violence,  and 
to  teach,  directly  and 'indirectly,  a  respect  for  law.  And  in  common 
with  the  leaders  of  the  Federal  party,  he  could  not  forsee  the  unex 
ampled  material  prosperity  of  the  country,  and  the  conservative  in 
fluence  of  such  prosperity. 

Mr.  Mason  was,  all  his  life,  a  man  of  decided  religious  convic 
tions.  Trained  in  the  faith  of  the  early  fathers  of  New  England, 
neither  the  growth  of  his  mind  nor  his  observation  of  humanity  led 
him,  in  his  mature  years,  to  depart  therefrom.  His  whole  intel 
lectual  being  rested  upon  a  strong  conviction  of  the  supremacy  of 
law,  and  that  every  violation  of  law  involved  a  corresponding  pen 
alty;  and  the  leading  articles  of  the  creed  in  which  he  was  reared, 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  381 


the  fall  of  man,  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  the  atonement,  being 
in  harmony  with  his  views  of  the  attributes  and  providence  of  God 
and  the  nature  of  man,  solved  for  him  the  moral  problems  of  life. 
After  his  removal  to  Portsmouth  he  worshipped  with  his  family  in 
the  Episcopal  church  of  that  town,  preferring  its  liturgy  and  service 
to  the  Congregational  form.  In  his  prime  of  life,  as  happens  with 
most  men  who  are  deeply  engaged  in  secular  affairs,  he  gave  less 
thought  than  he  afterwards  did  to  religious  subjects,  or  the  con 
templation  of  a  world  beyond  the  grave,1  but  with  the  lengthening 
shadows  of  his  decline  these  great  questions  dwelt  more  in  his  mind, 
and  he  came  to  think,  read,  and  speak  of  them  habitually.  After 
his  removal  to  Boston,  he  became  a  member  of  St.  Paul's  (390) 
Church,  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stone,  for  whom  he  had 
a  high  regard,  both  as  a  pastor  and  a  man.2  The  deep  and  abiding 
sorrow  caused  by  the  death  of  two  amiable  and  promising  sons,  had 
also  its  natural  effect  in  weaning  his  thoughts  from  earth,  and  turn 
ing  them  toward  the  heaven  to  which  these  treasures  of  his  heart 
had  been  removed.  The  last  years  of  his  life  were  marked  by  more 
frequent  expressions  of  religious  feeling,  and  by  a  mixture  of  gravity 
and  tenderness  in  his  manner  which  was  the  result  of  meditation 
on  the  great  themes  of  life,  death,  and  immortality. 

In  illustration  of  Mr.  Mason's  religious  feeling,  at  the  time 
when  he  was  most  actively  engaged  in  the  business  of  life,  I  quote 
an  extract  from  a  memoir  of  him,  prepared  by  his  friend  Mr.  Eben- 
ezer  Wheelwright,  who  for  many  years  had  peculiar  opportunities 
for  observing  his  traits  of  mind  and  character,  before  his  removal 
from  Portsmouth.. 

"In  the  year  1831,  February  12,  there  was  an  annular  eclipse  of 
the  sun;  and  the  agencies  of  science  were  in  motion  to  make  obser 
vations  and  report  its  astronomical  relations.  The  day  was  very 
beautiful,  and  no  cloud  was  seen  in  the  sky.  As  the  eclipse  ad 
vanced  the  writer  joined  Mr.  Mason,  at  the  terminus  of  the  beauti 
ful  street  that  led  up  to  his  mansion.  It  had  been  planted  with  a 
long  row  of  sycamores,  which  had  now  attained  their  growth,  and 

1  See  the  correspondence  between  him  and  Dr.  Appleton  in  Chapter  VI. 

2  See  in  the  Appendix  a  letter  from  Dr.  Stone  upon  Mr.  Mason's  religious 
character  in  declining  life. 


382  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


both  in  winter  and  summer  were  finely  ornamental.  The  shadow 
was  deepening  every  moment,  until  the  whole  surface  of  the  sun, 
except  the  circular  thread  of  light,  was  obscured,  as  we  slowly 
walked  along.  Mr.  Mason  remarked,  as  far  as  the  writer's  memory 
serves,  as  follows:— 

"  'A  scene  like  this  is  always  appalling:  I  wonder  not  that 
savage  nations  were  terrified  by  such  manifestations  of  the  Deity. 
The  intuitive  idea  of  God  is  thus  magnified  into  a  visible  certainty, 
and  though  we  know  the  laws  of  the  solar  system,  yet  we  cannot 
escape  from  the  conviction,  that  these  are  the  workings  of  (391) 
the  Divine  power.  We  lose  sight  of  the  law  in  the  presence  of  the 
Lawgiver.  The  solemnity  of  the  scene  puts  a  limit  to  our  curiosity, 
and  instead  of  conducting  the  investigations  of  science,  I  would 
rather  stand  still  and  adore.'  The  conversation  then  turned  to  the 
supernatural  darkness  of  the  crucifixion,  which  men  of  infidel  minds 
deemed  incredible  and  asburd.  It  was  evident  that  a  deep  religious 
awe  pervaded  his  mind  and  that  his  faith  in  the  Gospel  record  was 
not  staggered  by  astonishing  narrative,  for  it  was  a  fitting  accom 
paniment  of  the  awful  deed,  and  a  manifestation  of  God's  displeasure 
which  none  of  the  multitude  who  witnessed  it,  had  ever  denied." 

My  task  is  now  closed.  In  looking  over  what  I  have  written  I 
feel  conscious  that  I  have  exposed  myself  to  a  criticism  which  I  will 
answer  by  anticipation.  It  is  now  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  since 
Mr.  Mason  died.  His  contemporaries  have  all  passed  away,  and  of 
those  who  personally  knew  him,  and  thus  are  qualified  to  judge  of 
the  correctness  of  my  sketch,  the  number  is  rapidly  diminishing. 
He  wrote  no  books,  and  so  does  not  enjoy  the  fame  that  is  won  by 
successful  authorship.  He  was  never  a  judge,  and  thus  his  name  is 
not  preserved  in  his  opinions,  like  those  of  Marshall  and  Shaw. 
Among  the  younger  members  of  the  profession  of  the  law  he  is 
becoming  merely  a  name  and  a  tradition.  I  am  aware  that  by  some 
of  these  last  it  may  be  said  that,  after  the  usual  manner  of  biogra 
phers,  I  have  magnified  the  claims  and  merits  of  my  subject.  They 
may  ask  for  more  definite  and  sustantial  proof  of  the  greatness  of 
Mr.  Mason  than  any  I  have  been  able  to  present.  To  such  objections 
I  have  only  to  say  that  my  estimate  of  Mr.  Mason  has  been  carefully 
and  advisedly  formed.  For  many  years  I  knew  him  well;  perhaps 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  383 


as  well  as  a  young  man  can  know  an  old  man  who  was  never  ap 
proached  without  great  respect,  almost  reverence.  I  have  known 
also  many  of  the  eminent  lawyers  and  statesmen  of  New  England, 
and  have  only  to  say  that  my  early  impression  of  Mr.  Mason's 
powers  has  been  confirmed  by  time,  and  strengthened  by  my  observa 
tion  of  others.  And  furthermore,  I  (392)  speak  confidently  and 
from  knowledge  when  I  add  that  the  high  place  I  have  assigned  to 
him  as  a  man  and  a  lawyer  would,  were  they  alive,  be  emphatically 
and  unhesitatingly  confirmed  by  Judge  Story,  Mr.  Webster,  and  Mr. 
Ticknor. 

So  far  as  Mr.  Webster  is  concerned,  the  above  statement  is  not 
matter  of  inference  merely.  He  thus  records,  twenty  years  before 
Mr.  Mason's  death,  in  his  Autobiography,  his  impressions  of  his 
friend's  powers. 

"I  lived  in  Portsmouth  nine  years,  wanting  one  month.  They 
were  very  happy  years.  Circumstances  favored  me  at  my  first  be 
ginning  there.  Owing  to  several  occurrences,  there  happened  to  be 
an  unfilled  place  among  leading  counsel  at  that  bar.  I  did  not  fill  it, 
but  I  succeeded  to  it.  It  so  happened,  and  so  has  happened,  that 
with  the  exception  of  instances  in  which  I  have  been  associated  with 
the  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States,  for  the  time  being,  I 
have  hardly  ten  times  in  my  life  acted  as  junior  counsel.  Once  or 
twice  with  Mr.  Mason,  once  or  twice  with  Mr.  Prescott,  once  with 
Mr.  Hopkinson,  are  all  the  cases  which  occur  to  me. 

"Indeed,  for  the  nine  years  I  lived  in  Portsmouth,  Mr.  Mason 
and  myself,  in  the  counties  where  we  both  practiced,  were  on  oppos- 
site  sides,  pretty  much  as  a  matter  of  course.  He  has  been  of  infi 
nite  advantage  to  me  not  only  by  his  unvarying  friendship,  but  by 
the  many  good  lessons  he  has  taught,  and  the  example  he  set  me,  in 
the  commencement  of  my  career.  If  there  be  in  the  country  a 
stronger  intellect;  if  there  be  a  mind  of  more  native  resources;  if 
there  be  a  vision  that  sees  quicker,  or  sees  deeper  into  whatever  is 
intricate,  or  whatsoever  is  profound,  I  must  confess  I  have  not 
known  it.  I  have  not  written  this  paragraph  without  considering 
what  it  implies.  I  look  to  that  individual  who,  if  it  belong  to  any 
body,  is  entitled  to  be  an  exception.1  But  I  deliberately  let  the  judg- 

1  This  was  Chief  Justice  Marshall. 


384  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


merit  stand.  That  that  individual  has  much  more  habit  of  regular 
composition,  that  he  has  been  disciplined  and  exercised  in  a  vastly 
superior  school,  that  he  possesses  even  a  faculty  of  illustration  (393) 
more  various  and  more  easy,  I  think  may  be  admitted.  That  the 
original  reach  of  his  mind  is  greater,  that  its  grasp  is  stronger,  that 
its  logic  is  closer,  I  do  not  allow."1 

That  this  high  estimate  was  never  changed,  appears  from  the 
sketch  of  Mr.  Mason's  life  and  character  contained  in  Mr.  Webster's 
address  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts,  on  behalf  of  the 
bar  of  Suffolk,  after  his  friend's  death ;  which  will  be  found  in  the 
Appendix. 

The  fame  which  Mr.  Mason  enjoys  is  not  proportioned  to  the 
intellectual  superiority  accorded  to  him  by  his  contemporaries.  But 
this  is  no  uncommon  lot.  Fame,  like  fortune,  distributes  her  favors 
with  a  capricious  hand.  Unhappy  is  he  who  makes  the  pursuit  of 
fame  the  object  of  his  life,  and  feels  that  his  life  is  a  failure  if  he  do 
not  secure  it!  Mr.  Mason's  descendants  must  console  themselves 
with  the  sentiment  expressed  in  the  beautiful  language  of  Milton:— 

"Fame  is  no  plant  that  grows  on  mortal  soil, 
Nor  in  the  glistering  foil, 
Set  off  to  the  world,  nor  in  broad  rumor  lies, 
But  lives  and  spreads  aloft  by  those  pure  eyes, 
And  perfect  witness  of  all-judging  Jove, 
As  he  pronounces  lastly  on  each  deed. 
Of  so  much  fame  in  Heaven  expect  thy  meed." 

1   Curtis's  Life  of  Webster,  vol.  i.  p.  89. 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


A. 

PROCEEDINGS  IN  MASSACHUSETTS  AND  NEW  HAMPSHIRE, 
ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  HON.  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


MR.  MASON'S  DEATH. 

AT  a  meeting  of  the  Bar  of  the  County  of  Suffolk,  held  October  17,  1848,  in 
the  Law  Library,  the  Hon.  Richard  Fletcher  was  appointed  Chairman,  and  Mr. 
George  T.  Curtis,  Secretary. 

The  Chairman  having  stated  that  the  meeting  had  been  called  to  take  some 
notice  of  the  decease  of  the  Hon.  Jeremiah  Mason, —  Mr.  Choate  rose,  and  spoke 
nearly  as  follows: — 

I  have  supposed,  sir,  as  you  have  done,  that  it  would  be  the  desire  of  the  Bar 
of  Suffolk  to  mark  the  event  which  has  led  to  the  call  of  this  meeting,  by  some 
thing  more  than  the  accustomed  and  formal  expression  of  sensibility  and  regret 
for  the  loss  of  one  of  its  number. 

Mr.  Mason  was  so  extraordin-ary  a  person;  his  powers  of  mind  were  not  only 

so  vast,  but  so  peculiar;  his  character  and  influence  were  so  weighty,  as  well  as 

good;  he  filled  for  so  many  years  so  conspicuous  a  place  in  the  profession  of  the 

law,  in  public  life,  and  in  intercourse  with  those  who  gave  immediate  direction  to 

-26 


388  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

public  affairs, — that  it  appears,  most  fit,  if  it  were  practicable,  that  we  should  at 
tempt  to  record,  somewhat  permanently  and  completely,  our  appreciation  of  him, 
and  to  convey  it  to  others,  who  knew  him  less  perfectly  and  less  recently  than 
ourselves.  It  seems  to  me,  that  one  of  the  very  few  greatest  men  whom  this 
country  has  produced ;  a  statesman  among  the  foremost  in  a  Senate,  of  which  King, 
and  Giles,  and  Gore,  in  the  fullness  of  their  strength  and  fame,  were  members;  a 
jurist  who  would  have  (397)  filled  the  seat  of  Marshall  as  Marshall  filled  it;  of 
whom  it  may  be  said,  that,  without  ever  holding  judicial  station,  he  was  the  author 
and  finisher  of  the  jurisprudence  of  a  State;  one  whose  intellect,  wisdom,  and  up 
rightness  gave  him  a  control  over  the  opinions  of  all  the  circles  in  which  he  lived 
and  acted,  of  which  we  shall  scarcely  see  another  example,  and  for  which  this 
generation  and  the  country  are  the  better  to-day: — such  seems  to  me  to  have  been 
the  man  who  has  just  gone  down  to  a  timely  grave.  I  rejoice  to  know,  that  the 
eighty-first  year  of  his  life  found  his  marvelous  faculties  wholly  unimpaired. 

"No  pale  gradations  quenched  that  ray." 

Down  to  the  hour  when  the  apoplectic  shock,  his  first  sickness,  struck  him,  as  it 
might  seem,  in  a  moment,  from  among  the  living,  he  was  ever  his  great  and 
former  self. 

He  is  dead;  and  although,  here  and  there,  a  kindred  mind  —  here  and  there, 
rarer  still,  a  coeval  mind  —  survives,  he  has  left  no  one,  beyond  his  immediate 
blood  and  race,  who  in  the  least  degree  resembles  him. 

Under  the  influence  of  these  opinions  and  wishes  the  resolutions  which  I  hold 
in  my  hand  have  been  prepared,  chiefly  by  others;  and  I  have  been  requested  to 
offer  them  to  the  acceptance  of  the  Bar. 

Mr.  Choate  then  moved  the  following  resolutions,  which  were  unanimously 
adopted: — 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  Bar  have  heard  with  profound  emotion  of 
the  decease  of  the  Honorable  Jeremiah  Mason,  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  dis 
tinguished  of  the  great  men  who  have  ever  adorned  this  profession ;  and,  as  well 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  389 

in  discharge  of  a  public  duty,  as  in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  our  own  private 
feelings,  we  think  it  proper  to  mark  this  occasion  by  some  attempt  to  record  our 
estimate  of  his  pre-eminent  abilities  and  high  character. 

Resolved,  That  the  public  character  and  services  of  Mr.  Mason  demand  prom 
inent  commemoration;  that  throughout  his  long  life,  whether  as  a  private  person 
or  in  public  place,  he  maintained  a  wide  and  various  intercourse  with  public  men, 
and  cherished  a  constant  and  deep  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  by  his  vast 
practical  wisdom  and  sagacity,  the  fruit  of  extraordinary  intellectual  endow 
ments,  matured  thought,  and  profound  observation,  and  by  the  soundness  of 
his  opinions  and  the  comprehensiveness  and  elevated  tone  of  his  politics,  he 
exerted  at  all  times  a  great  and  most  salutary  influence  upon  the  sentiments  and 
policy  of  the  community  and  the  country;  and  that,  as  a  Senator  in  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  during  a  period  of  many  years,  and  in  a  crisis  of  affairs 
which  demanded  the  wisdom  of  the  wisest,  and  the  civil  virtues  of  the  best,  he 
was  distinguished  among  the  most  eminent  (398)  men  of  his  country  for  ability 
in  debate,  for  attention  to  all  the  duties  of  his  great  trust,  for  moderation,  for 
prudence,  for  fidelity  to  the  obligations  of  that  party  connection  to  which  he  was 
attached,  for  fidelity  still  more  conspicuous  and  still  more  admirable  to  the  higher 
obligations  of  a  thoughtful  and  enlarged  patriotism. 

Resolved,  That  it  was  the  privilege  of  Mr.  Mjason  to  come  to  the  Bar,  when 
the  jurisprudence  of  New  England  was  yet  in  its  infancy;  that  he  brought  to 
its  cultivation  great  general  ability,  and  a  practical  sagacity,  logical  power,  and 
patient  research,  —  constituting  altogether  a  legal  genius,  rarely  if  ever  sur 
passed;  that  it  was  greatly  through  his  influence  that  the  growing  wants  of  a 
prosperous  State  were  met  and  satisfied  by  a  system  of  Common  Law  at  once 
flexible  and  certain,  deduced  by  the  highest  human  wisdom  from  the  actual  wants 
of  the  community,  logically  correct,  and  practically  useful;  that  in  the  fact  that 
the  State  of  New  Hampshire  now  possesses  such  a  system  of  law,  whose  glad- 


390  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

some  light  has  shone  on  other  States,  is  seen  both  the  product  and  the  monu 
ment  of  his  labors,  less  conspicuous,  but  not  less  real  than  if  embodied  in  codes 
and  institutes  bearing  his  name; — yet  that,  bred  as  he  was  to  the  Common  Law, 
his  great  powers,  opened  and  liberalized  by  its  study  and  practice,  enabled  him 
to  grasp  readily,  and  wield  with  entire  ease,  those  systems  of  Equity,  applicable 
to  the  transactions  of  the  land  or  the  sea,  which  in  recent  times,  have  so  much 
meliorated  and  improved  the  administration  of  justice  in  our  country. 

Resolved,  That,  as  respects  his  practice  as  a  Counsellor  and  Advocate  at  this 
Bar,  we  would  record  our  sense  of  his  integrity,  prudence,  fidelity,  depth  of 
learning,  knowledge  of  men  and  affairs,  and  great  powers  of  persuading  kindred 
minds;  and  we  know  well,  that,  when  he  died,  there  was  extinguished  one  of  the 
few  great  lights  of  the  old  Common  Law. 

Resolved,  That  Mr.  Webster  be  requested  to  present  these  resolutions  to  the 
Supreme  Judicial  Court,  at  its  next  term  in  Boston;  and  the  District  Attorney 
of  the  United  States  be  requested  to  present  them  to  the  Circuit  Court  of  the 
United  States  now  in  session. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  communicate  to  the  family  of  Mr.  Mason  a 
copy  of  these  resolutions,  together  with  the  respectful  sympathy  of  the  Bar. 


In  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  of  Massachusetts,  on  Tuesday,  November  14, 
1848,  the  Court  having  been  opened  in  form  at  nine  o'clock,  A.  M.,  and  prayer 
having  been  offered,  Mr.  Webster  rose  and  said: — 

May  it  please  your  Honors:  Jeremiah  Mason,  one  of  the  Counsellors  of  this 
Court,  departed  this  life  on  the  14th  of  October,  at  his  residence  in  this  city.  The 
death  of  one  of  its  members,  so  highly  respected,  so  much  admired  and  venerated, 
could  not  fail  to  produce  a  striking  impression  upon  the  members  of  this  Bar; 
and  a  (399)  meeting  was  immediately  called,  at  which  a  member  of  this  Court, 
just  on  the  eve  of  leaving  the  practice  of  his  profession  for  a  seat  on  the  Bench, 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  391 

presided;  and  resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  entertained  by  the  Bar  of  the 
high  character  of  the  deceased,  and  of  sincere  condolence  with  those  whom  his  loss 
touched  more  nearly,  were  moved  by  one  of  his  distinguished  brethren,  and 
adopted  with  entire  unanimity.  My  brethren  have  appointed  me  to  the  honor 
able  duty  of  presenting  these  resolutions  to  this  Court;  and  it  is  in  discharge 
of  that  duty  that  I  rise  to  address  you,  and  pray  that  the  resolutions  which  I 
hold  in  my  hand  may  be  read  by  the  Clerk. 

The  Clerk  of  the  Court  then  read  the  resolutions,  when  Mr.  Webster  rose, 
and  continued: — 

The  proprieties  of  this  occasion  compel  me ,  with  whatever  reluctance,  to 
refrain  from  the  indulgence  of  the  personal  feelings  which  arise  in  my  heart 
upon  the  death  of  one,  with  whom  I  have  cultivated  a  sincere,  affectionate,  and 
unbroken  friendship,  from  the  day  when  I  commenced  my  own  profesional 
career,  to  the  closing  hour  of  his  life.  I  will  not  say,  of  the  advantages  which 
I  have  derived  from  his  intercourse  and  conversation,  all  that  Mr.  Fox  said  of 
Edmund  Burke;  but  I  am  bound  to  say,  that  of  my  own  professional  discipline 
and  attainments,  whatever  they  may  be,  I  owe  much  to  that  close  attention  to 
the  discharge  of  my  duties  which  I  was  compelled  to  pay,  for  nine  successive 
years  from  day  to  day,  by  Mr.  Mason's  efforts  and  arguments  at  the  same  Bar. 
Fas  est  ab  hoste  docerfr',  and  I  must  have  been  unintelligent,  indeed,  not  to  have 
learned  something  from  the  constant  displays  of  that  power  which  I  had  so 
much  occasion  to  see  and  to  feel. 

It  is  the  more  appropriate  duty  of  the  present  moment  to  give  some  short 
notice  of  the  life,  character,  and  qualities  of  his  mind  and  heart,  so  that  he 
may  be  presented  as  an  example  to  those  who  are  entering  upon  or  pursuing 
the  same  career.  Four  or  five  years  ago,  Mr.  Mason  drew  up  a  biography  of 
himself,  from  the  earliest  period  of  his  recollection  to  the  time  of  his  removal 
to  Portsmouth,  in  1797;  which  is  interesting,  not  only  for  the  information  it 

a  It  is  hard  to  be  taught  by  an  enemy. 


392  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

gives  of  the  mode  in  which  the  habits  of  his  life  were  formed,  but  also  for  the 
manner  of  its  composition. 

He  was  born  on  the  27th  day  of  April,  1768,  at  Lebanon  in  Connecticut. 
His  remotest  ancestor  in  this  country  was  Capt.  John  Mason  (an  officer  who  had 
served  with  distinction  in  the  Netherlands,  under  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax),  who 
came  from  England  in  1630,  and  settled  at  Dorchester  in  the  colony  of  Massach 
usetts.  His  great  grandfather  lived  at  Haddam.  His  grandfather,  born  in 
1705,  lived  at  Norwich,  and  died  in  the  year  1779.  Mr.  Mason  remembered  him, 
and  recollected  his  character,  as  that  of  a  respectable  and  deeply  religious  man. 
His  ancestor  on  the  maternal  side  was  James  Fitch,  a  learned  divine,  who  came 
from  England  and  settled  in  Saybrook,  but  removed  to  Lebanon,  where  he  died. 
A  Latin  epitaph,  in  the  ancient  burying-ground  of  that  town,  records  his  merits. 
One  of  his  descendants  (400)  held  a  large  of  land  in  the  parish  of  Goshen,  in 
the  town  of  Lebanon,  by  grant  from  the  Indians;  one  of  half  of  which,  near  a 
century  afterwards,  was  bequeathed  to  his  daughter,  Elizabeth  Fitch,  the 
mother  of  Mr.  Mason.  To  this  property  Mr.  Mason's  father  removed  soon  after 
his  marriage,  and  there  he  died  in  1813.  The  title  of  this  land  was  obtained 
from  Uncas,  an  Indian  sachem  in  that  neighborhood,  by  the  great  grandfather 
of  Mr.  Mason's  mother,  and  has  never  been  alienated  out  of  the  family.  It  is 
now  owned  by  Mr.  Mason's  nephew,  Jeremiah  Mason,  the  son  of  his  eldest 
brother  James.  The  family  has  been  distinguished  for  longevity,  the  average 
ages  of  Mr.  Mason's  six  immediate  ancestors  having  exceeded  eighty-three 
years  each.  Mr.  Mason  was  the  sixth  of  nine  children,  all  of  whom  are  now 
dead. 

Mr.  Mason's  father  was  a  man  of  intelligence  and  activity,  of  considerable 
opulence,  and  highly  esteemed  by  the  community.  At  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  being  a  zealous  Whig,  he  raised  and  commanded  a  company 
of  minute-men,  as  they  were  called,  and  marched  to  the  siege  of  Boston.  Here 
he  rendered  important  service,  being  stationed  at  Dorchester  Heights,  and  en- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  393 

gaged  in  fortifying  that  position.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year,  he  was  promoted 
to  a  colonelcy,  and  joined  the  army  with  his  regiment,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
New  York.  At  the  end  of  the  campaign,  he  returned  home  sick,  but  retained 
the  command  of  his  regiment,  which  he  rallied  and  brought  out  with  celerity 
and  spirit  when  General  Arnold  assaulted  and  burned  New  London.  He  be 
came  attached  to  military  life,  and  regretted  that  he  had  not  at  an  early  day 
entered  the  Continental  service.  Colonel  Mason  was  a  good  man,  affectionate 
to  his  family,  kind  and  obliging  to  his  neighbors,  and  faithful  in  the  observance 
of  all  moral  and  religious  duties. 

Mr.  Mason's  mother  was  distinguished  for  a  good  understanding,  much 
discretion,  the  purity  of  her  heart  and  affections,  and  the  exemplary  kindness 
and  benevolence  of  her  life.  It  was  her  great  anxiety  to  give  all  her  children  the 
best  education,  within  the  means  of  the  family,  which  the  state  of  the  country 
would  allow;  and  she  was  particularly  desirous  that  Jeremiah  should  be  sent 
to  college.  "In  my  recollection  of  my  mother,"  says  Mr.  Mason,  "she  was  the 
personification  of  love,  kindness,  and  benevolence." 

Destined  for  an  education  and  for  professional  life,  Mr.  Mason  was  sent 
to  Yale  College,  at  sixteen  years  of  age;  his  preparatory  studies  having  been 
pursued  under  "Master  Tisdale,"  who  had  then  been  forty  years  at  the  head  of 
a  school  in  Lebanon,  which  had  become  distinguished,  and  among  the  scholars 
of  which  were  the  Wheelocks,  afterwards  presidents  of  Dartmouth  College. 
He  was  graduated  in  1784,  and  performed  a  part  in  the  Camimencement  exercises, 
which  greatly  raised  the  expectation  of  his  friends,  and  gratified  and  animated 
his  love  for  distinction.  "In  the  course  of  a  long  and  active  life,"  says  he,  "I 
recollect  no  occasion  when  I  have  experienced  such  elevation  of  feeling."  This 
was  the  effect  of  that  spirit  of  emulation  which  incited  the  whole  course  of  his 
life  of  usefulness.  There  is  now  prevalent  among  us  a  morbid  and  sickly  notion, 
that  emulation,  even  as  honorable  rivalry,  is  a  (401)  debasing  passion,  and  not 


394  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

to  be  encouraged.  It  supposes  that  the  mind  should  be  left  without  such  excite 
ment,  in  a  dreamy  and  undisturbed  state,  flowing  or  not  flowing,  according  to 
its  own  impulse,  without  such  aids  as  are  furnished  by  the  rivalry  of  one  with 
another.  For  one,  I  do  not  believe  in  this.  I  hold  to  the  doctrine  of  the  old 
school,  as  to  this  part  of  education.  Quintilian  says:  "Sunt  quidam,  nisi 
institeris  remissi'.  quidam  imperio  indignantur;  quosdcun  continet  metus,  quos- 
dam  debilitat:  alios  continuatio  extundit,  in  aliis  plus  impetus  facit.  Mihi  ille 
detur  puer,  quern  laus  excitet,  quem  gloria  juvet,  qui  victus  fleat;  hie  erit  alendus 
ambitu,  hunc  mordebit  objurgatio,  hunc  honor  excitabit;  in  hoc  desidia/m  nun- 
quam  verebor." 

(Some  (people)  are  mild  and  relaxed,  unless  trained  and  disciplined:  some 
are  impatient  and  restive  under  the  restraints  of  authority:  some  are  controlled 
by  the  influence  of  fear,  while  it  weakens  and  disheartens  others :  some  yield  to 
persuasion,  while  the  exercise  of  force  is  required  in  the  case  of  others.  Give 
me  the  young  man,  who  responds  to  the  stimulus  of  praise,  who  glories  in 
achievement,  and  is  cast  down  by  defeat;  such  a  youth  will  be  influenced  by  am 
bition,  and  the  claims  of  duty  and  honor;  but  will  never  become  the  victim  of 
sloth  and  idleness.)  I  think  this  sound  sense  and  just  feeling. 

Mr.  Mason  was  destined  for  the  law,  and  commenced  the  study  of  that  pro 
fession  with  Mr.  Baldwin,3 — a  gentleman  who  has  lived  to  perform  important 
public  and  private  duties;  has  served  his  country  in  Congress,  and  on  the  bench 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Connecticut;  and  still  lives  to  hear  the  account  of  the 

a  Simeon  Baldwin,  (1761 — 1851.)  Born  in  Norwich,  Conn.,  December  14, 
1761;  was  graduated  from  Yale  college  in  1781;  studied  law,  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1786,  and  practiced  in  New  Haven,  Conn.;  elected  as  a  Federalist  to 
the  Eighth  Congress  (Mar.  4,  1803— Mar.  3,  1805)  ;  associate  judge  of  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  Errors  1806 — 1817;  president  of  the  board  of  commissioners 
that  located  the  Farmington  canal  in  1822;  mayor  of  New  Haven  in  1826;  died 
in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  May  26,  1851.  Simeon  E.  Baldwin,  (1840 —  ),  the 
eminent  lawyer  and  judge,  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Errors,  Conn., 
in  1907,  a  member  of  the  International  Law  Association  (1899-1901,)  is  a  grand 
son,  and  is  now  living  in  New  Haven,  Conn. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  395 

peaceful  death  of  his  distinguished  pupil.  After  a  year,  he  went  to  Vermont, 
in  whose  recently  established  tribunals  he  expected  to  find  a  new  sphere  for  the 
gratification  of  ambition  and  the  enjoyment  of  talents.  He  studied  in  the  of 
fice  of  Stephen  Row  Bradley,  afterwards  a  Senator  in  Congress ;  and  was  admitted 
to  the  Bar,  in  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  in  the  year  1791. 

He  began  his  career  in  Westmoreland,  a  few  miles  below  Walpole,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-three;  but  in  1794  three  years  afterwards,  removed  to  Walpole, 
as  being  a  larger  village,  where  there  was  more  society  and  more  business.  There 
was  at  that  time  on  the  Connecticut  River  a  rather  unusual  number  of  gentle 
men,  distinguished  for  polite  accomplishments  and  correct  tastes  in  literature, 
and  among  them  some  well  known  to  the  public  as  respectable  writers  and 
authors.  Among  these  were  Mr.  Benjamin  West,  Mr.  Dennie,  Mr.  Royal  Tyler,  Mr. 
Jacobs,  Mr.  Samuel  Hunt,  Mr.  J.  W.  Blake,  Mr.  Colman  (who  established,  and 
for  a  long  time  edited,  the  "New  York  Evening  Post"),  and  Mr.  Olcott.  In 
the  association  with  these  gentlemen  and  those  like  them,  Mr.  Mason  found  an 
agreeable  position,  and  cultivated  tastes  and  habits  of  the  highest  character. 

About  this  period  he  made  a  journey  to  Virginia,  on  some  business  connected 
with  land  titles,  where  he  had  much  intercourse  with  Major-Gen.  Henry  Lee; 
and,  on  his  return,  he  saw  President  Washington,  at  Philadelphia,  and  was 
greatly  struck  by  the  urbanity  and  dignity  of  his  manner.  He  heard  Fisher 
Ames  make  his  celebrated  speech  upon  the  British  treaty.  All  that  the  world 
has  said  with  regard  to  the  extraordinary  effect  produced  by  that  speech,  and 
its  wonderful  excellence,  is  fully  confirmed  by  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Mason.  He 
speaks  of  it  as  one  of  the  highest  exhibitions  of  popular  oratory  that  he  had 
ever  witnessed;  popular,  not  in  any  low  sense,  but  popular  as  being  addressed 
to  a  popular  body,  and  high  in  all  the  qualities  of  sound  reasoning  and  enlight 
ened  eloquence. 

Being  inclined  to  exercise  his  abilities  in  a  larger  sphere,  he  removed  from 
Walpole  (402)  to  Portsmouth  in  1797.  He  had  at  this  time  made  the  acquaint- 


396  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

ance  of  Aaron  Burr  and  Alexander  Hamilton.  The  former  advised  Mr.  Mason 
to  remove  himself  to  New  York.  His  own  preference  was  for  Boston;  but  he 
thought,  that,  filled  as  it  then  was  by  distinguished  professional  ability,  it  was 
too  crowded  to  allow  him  a  place.  That  was  a  mistake.  On  the  contrary,  the 
Bar  of  this  city,  with  the  utmost  liberality  and  generosity  of  feeling  and  senti 
ment,  have  always  been  ready  to  receive,  with  open  arms,  every  honorable  ac 
quisition  to  the  dignity  and  usefulness  of  the  profession  which  it  follows.  Mr. 
Mason,  however,  removed  to  Portsmouth  in  the  autumn  of  1797;  and,  as  was 
to  be  expected,  his  practice  soon  became  extensive.  He  was  appointed  Attorney- 
General  in  1802.  About  that  time,  the  late  learned  and  lamented  Chief  Justice 
Smith  retired  from  his  professional  duties,  to  take  his  place  as  a  Judge,  and 
Mr.  Mason  became  the  acknowledged  head  of  his  profession.  He  resigned  the 
office  of  Attorney-General,  three  or  four  years  afterwards,  to  the  great  regret 
of  the  Court,  the  Bar,  and  the  country.  As  a  prosecuting  officer,  he  was  court 
eous,  inflexible,  and  just;  careful  that  the  guilty  should  not  escape,  and  that 
the  honest  should  be  protected.  He  was  impartial,  almost  judicial,  in  the  admin 
istration  of  his  great  office.  He  had  no  morbid  eagerness  for  conviction;  and 
never  permitted,  as  sometimes  occurs,  an  unworthy  wrangling  between  the 
official  power  prosecuting,  and  the  zeal  of  the  other  party  defending.  His  official 
course  produced  exactly  the  ends  it  was  designed  to  do.  The  honest  felt  safe; 
but  there  was  a  trembling  and  fear  in  the  evil  disposed,  that  the  transgressed 
law  would  be  vindicated. 

Very  much  confined  to  his  profession,  he  never  sought  office  or  political  eleva 
tion.  Yet  he  held  decided  opinions  upon  all  political  questions,  and  cultivated 
acquaintance  with  all  the  leading  subjects  of  the  day;  and  no  man  was  more 
keenly  alive  than  he  to  whatever  transpired  at  home  or  abroad,  involving  the 
great  interests  of  the  civilized  world. 

His  political  principles,  opinions,  judgments,  were  framed  upon  those  of  the 
men  of  the  times  of  Washington.  From  these,  to  the  last,  he  never  swerved. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  397 

The  copy  was  well  executed.  His  conversation  on  subjects  of  state  was  as  in 
structive  and  interesting  as  upon  professional  topics.  He  had  the  same  reach  of 
thought,  and  exhibited  the  same  comprehensive  mind,  and  sagacity  quick  and 
far-seeing,  with  regard  to  political  things  and  men,  as  he  did  in  professional 
affairs.  His  influence  was,  therefore,  hardly  the  less  from  the  fact,  that  he 
was  not  actively  engaged  in  political  life.  There  was  an  additional  weight  given 
to  his  judgment,  arising  from  his  being  a  disinterested  beholder  only.  The 
looker-on  upon  a  contest  can  sometimes  form  a  more  independent  and  impartial 
opinion  of  its  course  and  its  results,  than  those  who  are  actually  engaged  in  it. 

But  at  length  in  June,  1813,  he  was  persuaded  to  accept  the  post  of  a  Senator 
of  the  United  States,  and  took  his  seat  that  month.  He  was  in  Congress  dur 
ing  the  sessions  of  1813  and  1814.  Those  were  very  exciting  times,  party  spirit 
ran  very  high,  and  each  party  put  forward  its  most  prominent  and  gifted  men; 
and  both  (403)  houses  were  filled  by  the  greatest  intellects  of  the  country.  M'r. 
Mason  found  himself  by  the  side  of  Rufus  King,  Giles,  Goldsborough,  Gore, 
Barbour,  Daggett,  Hunter,  and  other  distinguished  public  men.  And  among 
men  of  whatever  party,  and  however  much  some  of  them  differed  from  him  in 
opinion  or  political  principle,  there  was  not  one  of  them  all  but  felt  pleasure  if 
he  spoke,  and  respected  his  uncommon  ability  and  probity,  and  his  fair  and  up 
right  demeanor  in  his  place  and  station.  He  took  at  once  his  appropriate  posi 
tion.  Of  his  associates  and  admirers  in  the  other  house,  there  are  some  eminent 
persons  now  living  who  were  occasional  listeners  to  his  speeches,  and  much 
struck  with  his  ability;  together  with  Pickering,  Benson,  Pitkin,  Stockton, 
Lowndes,  Gaston,  and  Hopkinson,  now  all  deceased,  who  used  to  flock  to  hear 
him,  and  always  derived  deep  gratification  and  instruction  from  his  talents, 
character,  and  power. 

He  resigned  in  1817.  His  published  speeches  are  not  numerous.  The  re 
ports  of  that  day  were  far  less  complete  than  now,  and  comparatively  few  de 
bates  were  preserved  and  revised.  It  was  a  remarkable  truth,  that  he  always 


398  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

thought  far  too  lightly  of  himself  and  all  his  productions.  I  know  that  he  was 
with  difficulty  persuaded  to  prepare  his  speeches  in  Congress  for  publication; 
and,  in  this  memorial  of  himself  which  I  have  before  me,  he  says,  with  every 
appearance  and  feeling  of  sincerity,  that  he  "has  never  acted  any  important  part 
in  life,  but  has  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  conduct  of  others." 

His  two  main  speeches  were,  first,  one  of  great  vigor,  in  the  Senate,  in 
February,  1814,  on  the  Embargo,  just  before  that  policy  was  abandoned.  The 
other  was  later,  in  December,  1815,  shortly  before  the  peace,  on  Mr.  Giles's  Con 
scription  Bill,  in  which  he  discussed  the  subject  of  the  enlistment  of  minors; 
and  the  clause  authorizing  such  enlistment  was  struck  out  upon  his  motion. 

He  was  afterwards  for  several  years  a  member  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Legislature,  and  assisted  in  revising  the  code  of  that  State.  He  paid  much  at 
tention  to  the  subject  of  the  judicature,  and  performed  his  services  fully  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  State;  and  the  result  of  his  labors  was  warmly  commended. 
In  1824  he  was  again  a  candidate  for  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  The 
election  was  to  be  made  by  the  concurrent  vote  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Legis 
lature.  In  the  popular  branch  he  was  chosen  by  a  strong  vote.  The  Senate, 
however,  non-concurred;  by  which  means  the  election  was  lost — a  loss  to  the 
country,  not  to  him — by  force  of  circumstances  and  agencies,  not  now  or  ever 
fit  to  be  recalled  or  remembered. 

He  continued  to  reside  for  many  years  in  Portsmouth.  His  residence  in  that 
ancient  town  was  a  happy  one.  He  was  happy  in  his  family  and  in  the  society 
of  the  town,  surrounded  by  agreeable  neighbors,  respected  by  the  Bar  and  the 
Court,  and  standing  at  the  head  of  his  profession.  He  had  a  great  love  of  con 
versation.  He  took  pleasure  in  hearing  others  talk,  and  gave  an  additional 
charm  by  the  freshness,  agreeableness,  and  originality  of  his  own  observations. 
His  warm  hospitality  left  him  never  alone,  and  his  usefulness  was  felt  as  much 
within  the  walls  of  the  (404)  homes,  as  of  the  tribunals,  of  Portsmouth.  There 
are  yet  many  in  that  town  who  love  him  and  his;  many  who  remember,  as  chil- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  399 

dren,  the  enthusiasm  with  which  he  was  greeted  by  their  fathers  and  mothers; 
and  all  in  New  Hampshire,  old  enough  to  remember  him,  will  feel  what  we  feel 
here,  on  this  occasion. 

Led  at  last  partly  by  the  desire  of  exerting  his  abilities  in  a  larger  sphere 
of  usefulness,  and  partly  by  the  fact  of  the  residence  here  of  beloved  domestic 
connections,  he  came  to  this  city,  and  entered  upon  the  performance  of  his  pro 
fessional  duties  in  1832.  Of  the  manner  in  which  he  discharged  those  duties, 
this  Court  is  the  most  competent  judge.  You,  Mr.  Chief  Justice,  and  the  vener 
able  associate  who  usually  occupies  a  place  at  your  right,  have  been  witnesses 
of  the  whole.  You  know  the  fidelity  with  which  he  observed  his  duty  to  the 
Court,  as  well  as  his  duty  to  his  clients.  In  learning,  assiduity,  respect  for  the 
Bench,  uprightness  and  integrity,  he  stood  as  an  example  to  the  Bar.  You 
know  the  general  probity  and  talent  with  which  he  performed  for  so  many  years 
the  duty  of  a  Counsellor  of  this  Court. 

I  should  hardly  trust  myself  to  make  any  analysis  of  Mr.  Mason's  mind.  I 
may  be  a  partial  judge.  But  I  may  speak  of  what  I  myself  admire  and  vener 
ate.  The  characteristics  of  Mr.  Mason's  mind,  as  I  think,  were  real  greatness, 
strength  and  sagacity.  He  was  great  through  strong  sense  and  sound  judgment, 
great  by  comprehensive  views  of  things,  great  by  high  and  elevated  purposes.  Per 
haps  sometimes  he  was  too  cautious  and  refined,  and  his  distinctions  became  too 
minute;  but  his  discrimination  arose  from  a  force  of  intellect,  and  quick-seeing, 
far-reaching  sagacity,  everywhere  discerning  his  object,  and  pursuing  it  steadily. 
Whether  it  was  popular  or  professional,  he  grasped  a  point,  and  held  it  with  a 
strong  hand.  He  was  sarcastic  sometimes,  but  not  frequently;  not  frothy  or 
petulant,  but  cool  and  vitriolic.  Unfortunate  for  him  on  whom  his  sarcasm  fell ! 

His  conversation  was  as  remarkable  as  his  efforts  at  the  Bar.  It  was  or 
iginal,  fresh,  and  suggestive;  never  dull  or  indifferent.  He  never  talked  when 
he  had  nothing  to  say.  He  was  particularly  agreeable,  edifying,  and  instructive 


400  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

to  all  about  him;  and  this  was  the  charm  of  the  social  intercourse  in  which  he 
was  connected. 

As  a  professional  man,  Mr.  Mason's  great  ability  lay  in  the  department  of 
the  Common  Law.  In  this  part  of  jurisprudence,  he  was  profoundly  learned. 
He  had  drunk  copiously  from  its  deepest  springs;  and  he  had  studied,  with  dil 
igence  and  success,  the  departures  from  the  English  Common  Law,  which  had 
taken  place  in  this  country,  either  necessarily,  from  difference  of  condition,  or 
positively,  by  force  of  our  own  Statutes.  In  his  addresses,  both  to  courts  and 
juries,  he  affected  to  despise  all  eloquence,  and  certainly  disdained  all  orna 
ment;  but  his  efforts,  whether  addressed  to  one  tribunal  or  the  other,  were 
marked  by  a  degree  of  clearness,  directness,  and  force,  not  easy  to  be  equaled. 
There  were  no  Courts  of  Equity,  as  a  separate  and  distinct  jurisdiction,  in  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  during  his  residence  in  that  State.  Yet  the  Equity 
Treatises  and  Equity  Reports  were  all  in  his  library,  not  "wisely  ranged  for 
show,"  but  for  constant  and  daily  consultation;  because  he  saw  (405)  that  the 
Common  Law  itself  was  growing  every  day  more  and  more  liberal;  that  Equity 
principles  were  constantly  forcing  themselves  into  its  administration,  and  with 
in  its  rules;  that  the  subjects  of  litigation  in  the  Courts  were  constantly  be 
coming,  more  and  more,  such  as  escaped  from  the  technicalities  and  the  trammels 
of  the  Common  Law,  and  offered  themselves  for  discussion  and  decision  on  the 
broader  principles  of  general  jurisprudence.  Mr.  Mason,  like  other  accomplished 
lawyers,  and  more  than  most,  admired  the  searching  scrutiny  and  the  high 
morality  of  a  Court  of  Equity;  and  felt  the  instruction  and  edification  resulting 
from  the  perusal  of  the  judgments  of  Lord  Hardwicke,  Lord  Eldon,  and  Sir 
William  Grant,  as  well  as  of  those  of  great  names  in  our  own  country,  riot  now 
among  the  living. 

Among  his  early  associates  in  New  Hampshire,  there  were  many  dis 
tinguished  men.  Of  those  now  dead  were  Mr.  West,  Mr.  Gordon,  Edward  St. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  401 

Loe  Livermore,  Peleg  Sprague,  William  K.  Atkinson,  George  Sullivan,  Thomas 
W.  Thompson,  and  Amos  Kent;  the  last  of  these  having  been  always  a  particular 
personal  friend.  All  of  these  gentlemen  in  their  day  held  high  and  respectable 
stations,  and  were  eminent  as  lawyers  of  probity  and  character. 

Another  contemporary  and  friend  of  Mr.  Mason  was  Mr.  Timothy  Bigelow, 
a  lawyer  of  reputation,  a  man  of  probity  and  honor,  attractive  by  his  conversa 
tion,  and  highly  agreeable  in  his  social  intercourse.  Mr.  Bigelow,  we  all  know, 
was  of  this  State,  in  which  he  filled  high  offices  with  great  credit;  but,  as  a 
Counsellor  and  Advocate,  he  was  constant  in  his  attendance  on  the  New  Hamp 
shire  courts.  Having  known  Mr.  Bigelow  from  my  early  youth,  I  have  pleasure 
in  recalling  the  mutual  regard  and  friendship  which  I  know  to  have  subsisted 
between  him  and  the  subject  of  these  remarks.  I  ought  not  to  omit  Mr.  Wilson 
and  Mr.  Betton,  in  mentioning  Mr.  Mason's  contemporaries  at  the  Bar.  They 
were  near  his  own  age,  and  both  well  known  as  lawyers  and  public  men. 

Mr.  Mason,  while  yet  in  New  Hampshire,  found  himself  engaged  in  causes 
in  which  that  illustrious  man,  Samuel  Dexter,  also  appeared.  The  late  Mr. 
Justice  Story  \ras  still  more  frequently  at  the  Bar  of  that  State;  and,  at  a  period 
somewhat  earlier,  your  great  and  distinguished  predecessor,  Chief  Justice  Par 
sons,  occasionally  presented  himself  before  the  Courts  of  Portsmouth  or  Exeter, 
and  he  is  known  to  have  entertained  a  very  high  regard,  personal  and  profes 
sional,  as  well  for  Mr.  Mason,  as  for  the  late  Chief  Justice  Smith. 

Among  those  still  living,  with  whom  Mr.  Mason  was  on  terms  of  intimacy, 
and  with  whom  he  associated  at  the  Bar,  were  Messrs.  Plumer,  Arthur  Liver- 
more,  Samuel  Bell,  and  Charles  H.  Atherton.  If  these  respected  men  could  be 
here  today,  every  one  of  them  would  unite  with  us  in  any  tribute  of  love  and 
veneration  to  his  memory. 

But,  sir,  political  eminence  and  professional  fame  fade  away,  and  die  with 
all  things  earthly.  Nothing  of  character  is  really  permanent  but  virtue  and 
personal  worth.  These  remain.  Whatever  of  excellence  is  wrought  into  the 


402  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

soul  itself  belongs  (406)  to  both  worlds.  Real  goodness  does  not  attach  itself 
merely  to  this  life,  it  points  to  another  world.  Political  or  professional  reputa 
tion  cannot  last  forever;  but  a  conscience  void  of  offense  before  God  and  man  is 
an  inheritance  for  eternity.  Religion,  therefore,  is  a  necessary  and  indispensable 
element  in  any  great  human  character.  There  is  no  living  without  it.  Religion 
is  the  tie  that  connects  man  with  his  Creator,  and  holds  him  to  his  throne.  If 
that  tie  be  all  sundered,  all  broken,  he  floats  away,  a  worthless  atom  in  the  uni 
verse;  its  proper  attractions  all  gone,  its  destiny  thwarted,  and  its  whole  future 
nothing  but  darkness,  desolation,  and  death.  A  man  with  no  sense  of  religious 
duty,  is  he  whom  the  Scriptures  describe — in  such  terse  but  terrific  manner — 
as  "living  without  God  in  the  world."  Such  a  man  is  out  of  his  proper  being, 
out  of  the  circle  of  all  his  duties,  out  of  the  circle  of  all  his  happiness,  aiid 
away,  far,  far  away,  from  the  purposes  of  his  creation. 

A  mind  like  Mr.  Mason's — active,  thoughtful,  penetrating,  sedate — could  not 
but  meditate  deeply  on  the  condition  of  man  below,  and  feel  its  responsibilities. 
He  could  not  look  on  this  wondrous  frame, 

"This  universal  frame,  thus  wondrous  fair," 

without  feeling  that  it  was  created  and  upheld  by  an  intelligence  to  which  all 
other  intelligences  must  be  responsible.  I  am  bound  to  say,  that  in  the  course 
of  my  life  I  never  met  with  an  individual,  in  any  profession  or  condition  of  life, 
who  always  spoke,  and  always  thought,  with  such  awful  reverence  of  the  power 
and  presence  of  God.  No  irreverence,  no  lightness,  even  no  too  familiar  al 
lusion  to  God  and  his  attributes,  ever  escaped  his  lips.  The  very  notion  of  a 
Supreme  Being  was,  with  him,  made  up  of  awe  and  solemnity.  It  filled  the 
whole  of  his  great  mind  with  the  strongest  emotions.  A  man  like  him,  with  all 
his  proper  sentiments  and  sensibilities  alive  in  him,  must,  in  this  state  of  exist 
ence,  have  something  to  believe  and  something  to  hope  for;  or  else,  as  life  is  ad 
vancing  to  its  close,  and  parting,  all  is  heart-sinking  and  oppression.  Depend 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  403 


upon  it,  whatever  may  be  the  mind  of  an  old  man,  old  age  is  only  really  happy, 
when,  on  feeling  the  enjoyments  of  this  world  pass  away,  it  begins  to  lay  a 
stronger  hold  on  those  of  another. 

Mr.  Mason's  religious  sentiments  and  feelings  were  the  crowning  glories  of 
his  character.  One,  with  the  strongest  motives  to  love  and  venerate  him,  and 
the  best  means  of  knowledge,  says: — 

"So  far  as  my  memory  extends,  he  always  showed  a  deep  conviction  of  the 
divine  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  of  the  institutions  of  Christianity,  and 
of  the  importance  of  personal  religion.  Soon  after  his  residence  in  Boston,  he 
entered  the  Communion  of  the  Church,  and  has  continued  since  regularly  to  re 
ceive  the  Lord's  Supper.  From  that  time,  he  also  habitually  maintained  do 
mestic  worship,  morning  and  evening.  The  death  of  two  of  his  sons  produced 
a  deep  impression  upon  his  mind,  and  directed  it  in  an  increased  degree  to  re 
ligious  subjects. 

"Though  he  was  always  reserved  in  the  expression  of  religious  feeling,  still 
it  has  (407)  been  very  apparent  for  several  years,  that  his  thoughts  dwelt  much 
upon  his  practical  religious  duties,  and  especially  upon  preparation  for  another 
world.  Within  three  or  four  years,  he  frequently  led  the  conversation  to  such 
subjects;  and  during  the  year  past,  immediate  preparation  for  his  departure 
has  been  obviously  the  constant  subject  of  his  attention.  His  expressions  in 
regard  to  it  were  deeply  humble ;  and,  indeed,  the  very  humble  manner  in  which 
he  always  spoke  of  himself  was  most  marked. 

"I  have  observed  of  late  years,  an  increasing  tenderness  in  his  feelings  and 
manner,  and  a  desire  to  impress  his  family  with  the  conviction  that  he  would 
not  remain  long  with  them.  His  allusions  of  this  kind  have  been  repeated,  even 
when  apparently  in  his  usual  health;  and  they  indicated  the  current  of  his 
thoughts. 

"He  retained  his  consciousness  till  within  a  few  hours  of  his  death,  and 
—27 


404  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

made  distinct  replies  to  every  question  put  to  him.  He  was  fully  aware  that 
his  end  was  near;  and  in  answer  to  the  question,  'Can  you  now  rest  with  firm 
faith  upon  the  merits  of  your  divine  Redeemer?'  he  said,  'I  trust  I  do;  upon 
what  else  can  I  rest?' 

"At  another  time,  in  reply  to  a  similar  question,  he  said,  'Of  course,  I  have 
no  other  ground  of  hope.'  We  did  not  often  speak  to  him  during  those  last  few 
days,  but  had  no  doubt  that  he  was  entirely  conscious  of  his  state,  knew  that  his 
family  were  all  near,  and  that  his  mind  was  free  from)  anxiety.  He  could  not 
speak  with  ease,  and  we  were  unwilling  to  cause  him  the  pain  of  exertion.  His 
whole  life,  marked  by  uniform  greatness,  wisdom,  and  integrity;  his  deep 
humility,  his  profound  reverence  for  the  Divine  Majesty,  his  habitual  prepara 
tion  for  death,  his  humble  trust  in  his  Saviour,  left  nothing  to  be  desired  for 
the  consolation  of  his  family  under  this  great  loss.  He  was  gradually  prepared 
for  his  departure.  His  last  years  were  passed  in  calm  retirement;  and  he  died 
as  he  wished  to  die, — with  his  faculties  unimpaired,  without  great  pain,  his 
family  around  his  bed,  the  precious  promises  of  the  Gospel  before  his  mind, 
without  lingering  disease,  and  yet  not  suddenly  called  away." 

Such,  Mr.  Chief  Justice,  was  the  life,  and  such  the  death,  of  Jeremiah 
Mason.  For  one  I  could  pour  out  my  heart  like  water,  at  the  recollection  of  his 
virtues  and  his  friendship,  and  in  the  feeling  of  his  loss.  I  would  embalm  his 
memory  in  my  best  affections.  His  personal  regard,  so  long  continued  to  me, 
I  esteem  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  of  my  life;  and  I  hope  that  it  may  be 
known  hereafter,  that,  without  intermission  or  coolness  through  many  years, 
and  until  he  descended  to  his  grave,  Mr.  Mason  and  myself  were  friends. 

Mr.  Mason  died  in  old  age;  not  by  a  violent  stroke  from  the  hand  of  death, 
not  by  a  sudden  rupture  of  the  ties  of  nature,  but  by  a  gradual  wearing  out  of 
his  constitution.  He  enjoyed  through  life,  indeed,  remarkable  health.  He  took 
competent  exercise,  loved  the  open  air,  and  avoiding  all  extreme  theories  or  prac- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  405 

tice  controlled  (408)  his  conduct  and  habits  of  life  by  the  rules  of  prudence  and 
moderation.  His  death  was  therefore  not  unlike  that  described  by  the  Angel, 
admonishing  Adam:— 

"I  yield  it  just,  said  Adam,  and  submit. 
But  is  there  yet  no  other  way,  besides 
These  painful  passages,  how  we  may  come 
To  death,  and  mix  with  our  connatural  dust? 

"There  is,  said  Michael,  if  thou  well  observe 
The  rule  of  'Not  too  much,'  by  temperance  taught, 
In  what  thou  eat'st  and  drink'st;  seeking  from  thence 
Due  nourishment,  not  gluttonous  delight; 
Till  many  years  over  thy  head  return, 
So  may'st  thou  live;  till,  like  ripe  fruit,  thou  drop 
Into  thy  mother's  lap;  or  be  with  ease 
Gathered,  not  harshly  plucked;  for  death  mature. 
This  is  old  age."a 

After  Mr.  Webster  had  taken  his  seat,  his  Honor,  Chief  Justice  Shaw,  re 
plied  as  follows: — 

Gentlemen  of  the  Bar, — A  few  weeks  have  elapsed  since  our  hearts  were 
first  saddened  by  the  announcement  of  the  lamented  event  to  which  the  resolu 
tions  now  offered  refer.  But  such  were  the  character,  the  life,  and  services  of 
Mr.  Mason;  so  large  was  the  space  filled  by  him  in  the  estimation  of  the  public; 
so  strong  was  his  hold  upon  the  veneration,  respect,  and  affection  of  all  those 
who  had  known  him,  and  been  associated  with  him  in  public,  professional,  and 
social  life,  that  his  decease  was  not  an  event  to  awaken  merely  strong  tempor 
ary  feeling  of  grief  and  sadness,  and  then  pass  away  and  be  forgotten.  It  is 

a  Milton:      Paradise  Lost.     Bk.  XI.  Line  526. 


406  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

an  event  fitted  to  produce  a  deep  and  abiding  impression  upon  the  memory  of 
the  community  which  he  has  long  and  effectually  served,  the  chosen  profession 
which  he  has  honored  and  adorned,  and  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  as 
sociates  and  friends  whom  he  has  instructed  by  his  wisdom,  and  endeared  to 
him  by  his  kindness. 

It  is  therefore  with  the  highest  satisfaction,  and  with  feelings  of  respect 
and  affection  entirely  in  accordance  with  those  of  the  Bar,  in  which  I  am  con 
fident  that  my  associates,  the  other  members  of  this  Court,  will  cordially  par 
ticipate,  that  I  receive  these  resolutions;  and  I  shall  cheerfully  comply  with  the 
wish  of  the  Bar  by  ordering  them  to  be  enrolled  with  the  recorded  proceedings 
of  this  Court,  in  order  that  they  may  stand  as  a  permanent  memorial  to  future 
times,  of  the  high  sense  entertained,  as  well  by  this  Court  as  by  the  Bar,  of  the 
public  character  and  services  of  Mr.  Mason.  (409) 

His  eminent  and  marked  professional  character  entitle  him  to  a  high  rank 
in  the  estimation  of  those  who  are  conversant  with  the  administration  of  justice, 
and  who  duly  appreciate  the  value  and  importance  of  enlightened  jurisprudence, 
to  the  safety  and  peace  of  a  free  people.  The  prominent  characteristics  of  his 
mind  were  strength,  energy,  and  a  far-reaching  sagacity.  To  extraordinary 
powers  of  mind,  and  a  keen  natural  sagacity,  and  power  of  discrimination,  he 
brought  the  aid  of  copious  learning,  the  fruits  of  patient  and  well-directed 
study.  But  with  such  eminent  natural  and  acquired  powers,  Mr.  Mason  was  not 
in  the  habit  of  giving  hasty  opinions,  or  of  coming  unprepared  to  the  discussion 
of  important  questions.  When  cases  of  controverted  rights  were  presented  to 
him,  he  was  accustomed  to  examine  them  with  the  most  patient  and  persevering 
investigation,  and  subject  them  to  a  rigid  analysis,  by  which  he  was  enabled  to 
follow  the  intricacies  of  the  most  complicated  cases,  and  to  present  their  true 
bearings  and  merits  to  a  court  or  jury  with  admirable  clearness  and  perspicuity. 
Mr.  Mason  seemed  to  regard  the  contested  rights  of  his  employers,  drawn  into 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  407 

litigation,  as  a  sacred  trust  committed  to  his  charge,  which  he  was  conscientious 
ly  bound  to  protect  by  all  lawful  and  honorable  means;  and  he  regarded  noth 
ing  done,  by  way  of  preparation,  so  long  as  anything  remained  undone  which 
patient  research  could  accomplish. 

In  this  respect,  the  character  of  Mr.  Mason  may  be  recommended  as  an 
example  to  all  those  young  men  who  take  upon  themselves  the  responsibilities, 
and  aspire  to  the  honors  of  the  legal  profession. 

It  is  true  that  every  one  cannot  feel  assured  of  the  eminent  natural  gifts 
which  characterized  Mr.  Mason's  mind;  but  all  can  imitate  the  patient  study,  the 
industrious  investigation,  the  unshaken  integrity,  and  conscientious  fidelity  which 
prominently  marked  the  career  of  this  eminent  Jurist. 

The  death  of  such  a  man  though  at  an  advanced  age,  and  though  a  bereave 
ment,  in  the  order  of  a  wise,  kind  Providence,  to  which  we  would  submissively 
bow,  is  an  event  not  to  be  chronicled  and  soon  forgotten.  His  example  and 
character  'remain :  let  us  all  look  to  it  as  an  incentive  to  a  more  faithful  per 
formance  of  duty,  to  industry,  to  perseverance,  and  to  all  honorable  effort.  He 
has  passed  from  our  sight;  but  his  public  life  and  character  belong  to  his  age 
and  to  posterity.  It  is  therefore  the  part  of  wisdom,  as  well  as  a  most  grateful 
duty,  to  cherish  his  memory,  to  dwell  on  the  excellences  of  his  character,  and 
to  deepen  and  perpetuate  the  influence  of  an  eminent  lawyer,  and  of  a  great  and 
good  man. 

In  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States,  on  Tuesday,  October  17,  Robert 
Rantoul,  Jun.,  Esq.,a  the  United  States  Attorney  for  the  Massachusetts  District, 

a  Robert  Rantoul,  Jr.  (1805 — 1852.)  American  lawyer  and  politician,  born 
in  Beverly,  Mass.;  graduated  at  Harvard,  1826;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  three 
years  later  and  after  practicing  for  a  time  at  South  Reading  removed  in  1833  to 
Gloucester  elected  to  the  legislature  as  a  Democrat  in  '33;  became  a  member  of 
the  first  state  board  of  education,  '37.  The  following  year,  moved  to  Boston; 
in  '43  became  collector  of  the  port;  '45 — 49,  U.  S.  District  Attorney  for  Mass. 
(Feb.  22,  '51  to  Mch.  3,  '51,  U.  S.  Senator  (in  place  of  Daniel  Webster,  resigned,) 
and  in  Nov.,  same  year,  elected  to  H.  of  R.  He  was  a  decided  opponent  of  slav- 


408  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

presented  the  Resolutions  adopted  by  the  Bar  practicing  in  that  Court,  and  intro 
duced  them  by  the  following  remarks: —  (410) 
May  it  please  your  Honors, — The  duty  devolves  upon  me  of  announcing  to 
this  Court  the  decease  of  one  of  its  oldest  and  ablest  counsellors.  The  Hon. 
Jeremiah  Mason,  whose  death  occurred  on  Saturday  last,  has  gone  down  to  the 
grave,  full  of  honors,  and  after  a  long  life  of  arduous  professional  duty.  That 
a  man  who  has  filled  so  large  a  space  in  the  estimation  of  his  fellow-citizens 
should  receive  from  his  associates  in  our  profession  the  due  meed  of  respect,  I 
have  been  requested  by  the  members  of  the  Bar  of  the  Court  for  the  First  Cir 
cuit  to  submit  the  Resolutions  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  which,  with  the  leave 
of  the  Court,  I  will  read,  and  move  that  they  be  entered  on  the  records;  after 
which  I  shall  move  that  this  Court  do  adjourn. 

Judge  Woodbury  responded  to  Mr.  Rantoul's  address  as  follows: — 
Gentlemen  of  the  Bar, — This  Court  has  received  your  Resolutions  on  the 
lamented  death  of  Mr.  Mason  with  the  sensibility  due  to  his  great  worth.  His 
standing  as  a  lawyer  so  very  high,  and  his  powers  as  an  advocate  so  remark 
able,  were  known  widely;  but  none  could  fully  appreciate  the  extent  of  his  read 
ing,  his  accuracy  in  details,  the  acuteness  as  well  as  vigor  of  his  intellect,  and 
his  unsparing  logic,  without  something  of  that  long  intimacy  with  him  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  which  I  formerly  had  the  happiness  to  enjoy. 

ery,  and  in  '51,  a  year  before  his  death,  defended  Thomas  Sims,  the  first  slave 
recovered  in  Mass,  under  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  of  '50.  Mr.  Rantoul,  Jr.,  paid 
the  following  tribute  to  the  statesmen  of  N.  H. : — "In  the  ratio  of  her  popula 
tion  N.  H.  contributed  more  mental  and  moral  strength  to  the  Bar,  to  the  Sen 
ate,  and  to  the  Cabinet  of  the  country  than  any  other  State  in  the  Union.  There 
were  Ichabod  Bartlett,  the  'Randolph  of  the  North',  the  brilliant  flashes  of 
whose  wit,  keen  sarcasm  and  pungent  irony  gave  life  and  spirit  to  the  dry 
judicial  discussions  —  Sullivan,  the  fascination  of  whose  happy  eloquence  still 
lingers — Fletcher,  whose  legal  acumen,  clear,  distinct  and  precise  statement, 
closely  reasoned  argument  and  conscious  mastery  of  his  subject  adorn  no  less 
the  bench  than  formerly  the  bar  —  Jeremiah  Mason,  that  counsellor  of  marvel 
ous  sagacity,  unrivalled  in  his  knowledge  of  human  nature,  — <  and  Daniel 
Webster." 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  409 

Well  may  the  members  of  that  profession  respect  his  memory,  when  it  is 
but  a  just  tribute  to  his  rare  talents  to  say  that,  in  my  opinion,  in  a  profound 
knowledge  of  several  branches  of  jurisprudence,  and  in  some  of  the  most  choice 
qualities  of  a  forensic  speaker,  he  had  in  his  palmy  days,  not  merely  in  this 
State  or  New  England,  but  in  this  whole  country,  few  equals,  and  probably  no 
superior. 

Your  Resolutions,  gentlemen,  shall  be  recorded;  and  this  Court,  out  of  re 
gard  to  the  distinguished  merit  of  Mr.  Mason  and  his  long  practice  before  it  in 
this  Circuit,  will  now  adjourn. 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Rockingham  Bar,  holden  in  the  Court  House  at  Ports 
mouth,  October  19,  John  Porter,  Esq.,  the  President,  having  taken  the  Chair,  the 
members  present  were  addressed  by  Charles  W.  Cutter,  Esq.,  who,  in  a  few  brief 
and  interesting  remarks,  alluded  to  the  great  number  of  eminent  lawyers  that 
had  in  times  past  made  the  Rockingham  Bar  distinguished  throughout  the  coun 
try,  and  referred  to  the  recent  decease  in  Boston  of  the  Hon.  Jeremiah  Mason, 
so  long  the  most  eminent  practitioner  at  this  Bar,  and  probably  at  the  time  of 
his  decease  the  greatest  master  of  the  Common  Law  on  this  continent. 

(411) 

Mr.  Cutter  concluded  by  offering  the  following  Resolutions,  which,  on  motion 
of  J.  W.  Emery,  Esq.,  seconded  by  D.   M.    Christie,    Esq.,    were    unanimously 
'adopted: — 

Resolved,  That  the  recent  sudden  decease  of  the  Hon.  Jeremiah  Mason, 
formerly  and  for  nearly  forty  years  a  member  of  this  Bar,  of  which  he  was  its 


410  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

distinguished  leader,  pride,  and  ornament,  demands  some  appropriate  notice. 

Resolved,  That  the  high  respect  and  admiration  universally  entertained  for 
Mr.  Mason  by  his  professional  brethren,  arose  not  only  from  his  great  intel 
lectual  superiority,  his  profound  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  the  Common 
Law,  and  his  unrivaled  skill  and  sagacity  as  an  advocate  and  jurist,  but  also 
from  the  most  implicit  and  unhesitating  reliance  upon  his  high  principles,  his 
sense  of  honor,  and  his  elevated  standard  of  personal  and  professional  obliga 
tions. 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  members  of  Mr.  Mason's 
family  in  the  sudden  and  irreparable  loss  which  they  have  sustained. 

Resolved,  That  the  Hon.  John  Porter  be  requested  to  present  these  resolu 
tions  to  the  Hon.  Court  now  in  session;  that  Hon.  Ichabod  Bartlett  be  requested 
to  present  the  same  to  the  Superior  Court  at  its  next  session  in  this  judicial  dis 
trict,  and  also  to  communicate  the  same  to  Mrs.  Mason,  with  an  expression  of 
the  most  respectful  and  affectionate  sympathy  of  the  members  of  this  body. 


At  the  opening  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  Portsmouth,  on  the  21st 
of  October,  the  Hon.  John  Porter  rose,  and  addressed  the  Court  as  follows: — 

May  it  please  your  Honors, — The  Bar  of  this  county,  having  received  ti 
dings  of  the  recent  death  of  the  Hon.  Jeremiah  Mason  at  Boston,  have  made  it 
my  duty  to  announce  that  melancholy  event  to  the  Court. 

The  demise  of  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Mason  cannot  fail  to  excite  the  deepest 
feelings  of  mournful  regret  in  the  minds  of  those  so  long  and  so  agreeably  as 
sociated  with  him  in  professional  life,  as  this  Bar  has  heretofore  been. 

It  is  true,  that  Mr.  Mason,  for  a  number  of  years  prior  to  his  decease,  re 
sided  in  a  neighboring  State,  and  had  discontinued  the  practice  of  his  profession 
among  us;  but  the  largest  and  best  portion  of  his  valuable  life  was  spent  in  this 
State  and  here  in  this  immediate  neighborhood,  where  this  Court  is  now  in  ses 
sion.  It  was  here,  at  this  Bar,  that  his  young  mind  gave  promise  of  that  com- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  411 

manding  eminence  of  character,  to  which  he  afterwards  attained;  and  it  was 
here  that  he  exhibited  the  full  measure  of  his  intellectual  powers  and  endow 
ments  in  meridian  life.  It  was  here  that  he  built  up  for  himself  a  reputation 
for  learning,  for  integrity,  and  for  consummate  (412)  skill  and  address  in  the 
management  of  causes,  that  few,  very  few,  if  any,  may  hope  to  excel.  Under  such 
circumstances,  the  members  of  this  Bar  cannot  but  sensibly  feel  his  loss,  and 
desire  to  offer  some  tribute  of  respect  to  his  memory. 

Mr.  Mason  was  not  only  great  in  his  profession,  but  he  had  much  and 
varied  learning  of  a  more  general  and  diffusive  character.  The  circle  of  his 
reading  was  extensive,  and  his  memory  was  capacious  and  retentive.  Hence  he 
became  possessed  of  an  ample  store  of  general  information  entitling  him  to  a 
high  rank  as  a  sound  and  thorough  scholar. 

At  times  he  held  important  official  stations,  both  in  the  State  and  general 
government,  the  duties  of  which  he  discharged  with  singular  fidelity  and  ability. 
And  when  in  private  life,  such  was  the  general  confidence  in  the  extent  and  ac 
curacy  of  his  information,  and  the  soundness  of  his  judgments,  relative  to 
passing  events,  that  his  advice  and  opinions  exerted  a  decided  influence,  in  guid 
ing  and  controlling  the  opinions  and  conduct  of  others. 

He  was  a  very  instructive  and  entertaining  companion.  He  knew  how  to 
be  amusing  and  playful,  as  well  as  serious  and  grave.  His  conversation  was  full 
of  anecdote  and  remark,  drawn  from  his  extensive  observation  and  reading,  both 
in  regard  to  men  and  affairs. 

He  had  a  fast  hold  upon  the  confidence  of  the  people  immediately  surround 
ing  him,  as  neighbors  and  acquaintance;  and  he  was,  especially,  strong  and  se 
cure  in  the  affections  and  esteem  of  those  who  enjoyed  his  more  intimate  friend 
ship;  and  his  memory,  by  all  such,  will  be  ever  cherished  and  respected. 

Sundry  Resolutions  have  been  adopted,  at  a  meeting  of  this  Bar,  in  refer 
ence  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Mason,  expressive  of  their  high  estimation  of  his  char- 


412  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

acter,  and  their  deep  feelings  of  sorrow  for  his  loss.     These  resolutions,  it  now 
only  remains  for  me,  in  behalf  of  the  Bar,  to  present  to  the  Court. 
The  Resolutions  were  then  read. 

The  Hon.  Samuel  D.  Bell,  the  presiding  Justice,  said: — 

The  Court  sensibly  feel  the  great  loss  sustained  by  the  profession  and  the 
community,  by  the  death  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Mason. 

They  entirely  concur  in  the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  resolutions  of  the 
gentlemen  of  the  Bar  of  this  county,  now  communicated  to  them. 

They  unite  in  the  wish  to  pla«e  upon  the  records  of  the  Court  some  proper 
testimonial  of  the  high  esteem  and  respect  entertained  by  them  in  common  with 
the  whole  community,  for  the  deceased,  as  a  man  and  a  scholar,  as  a  distinguished 
legislator,  and  as  a  lawyer  whose  eminent  learning  and  almost  unrivaled  ability 
have  conferred  distinction  upon  the  Bar  of  the  State. 

It  is  therefore  ordered,  that  the  Resolutions  of  the  Bar  be  entered  upon  the 
records  of  the  Court.  (413) 

At  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Merrimack  County  Bar,  held  at  the 
Court  Room  in  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  the  21st  day  of  October, — on  motion  of 
Ira  Perley,  Esq.,  Gen.  Franklin  Pierce  was  chosen  Chairman,  and  John  H. 
George,  Secretary. 

Mr.  Perley  announced  the  recent  death  of  the  Hon.  Jeremiah  Mason,  of  Bos 
ton,  and  stated  the  object  of  the  meeting  to  be  an  expression  of  its  appreciation 
of  the  distinguished  character  of  the  deceased,  of  his  eminent  abilities  and  vast 
acquirements,  and  of  the  great  and  salutary  influence  he  exerted  during  the 
long  period  of  his  practice  in  this  State. 

Voted,  That  Hon.  Moses  Norris,  Ira  Perley,  Esq.,  and  Gen.  Charles  H. 
Peaslee  be  a  Committee  to  draft  and  report  Resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense 
of  the  Bar  upon  this  occasion. 

Mr.  Norris,  from  the  above  Committee,  reported  the  following  Resolutions: — 

Resolved,  That  the  long  connection  of  the  Hon.  Jeremiah  Mason  with  the 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  413 

Bar  of  this  State,  his  salutary  and  controlling  influence  as  its  most  distinguished 
member,  his  vast  learning  and  pre-eminent  abilities,  forbid  that  we  should  allow 
the  occasion  of  our  present  session  to  pass  without  some  tribute  to  his  memory. 

Resolved,  That  the  announcement  of  his  death  has  been  received  by  this  Bar 
with  profound  sensibility;  and  that  the  profession  in  the  State  in  which  he 
passed  the  dawn  and  meridian  of  his  professional  life,  will,  in  their  convictions  of 
the  great  loss  which  New  England  has  sustained,  respond  fully  to  the  senti 
ments  and  opinions  of  their  brethren  in  that  State  where  his  sun  went  down. 

Voted,  That  these  Resolutions  be  adopted;  and  that  the  Chairman  present 
the  same  to  the  Court,  with  the  request  that  they  be  entered  upon  the  records. 

The  Chairman  presented  the  Resolutions  to  the  Court  with  appropriate  re 
marks  upon  the  striking  characteristics  of  Mr.  Mason,  which,  in  his  opinion, 
rendered  him  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  man,  and  the  most  learned  jurist 
the  country  has  ever  produced. 

The  Court,  having  appropriately  responded  to  the  feelings  and  sentiments 
expressed  by  the  Bar,  ordered  the  Resolutions  to  be  entered  upon  the  records. 

(414) 


B. 

TRIBUTES  TO  MR.  MASON  BY  MR.  CHOATE  AND  MR.  HOAR. 


EXTRACT  FROM  MISS  MASON'S  DIARY. 

"Sunday  Oct.  29,  1848. — Mr.  Choate  was  here  this  evening,  talking  all  the 
time  of  father.  What  reverence  and  admiration  were  felt  for  that  man  with 
whom  I  have  been  living  all  my  life,  and  how  little  I  have  improved  such  an  ad 
vantage!  He  was  so  modest  and  unostentatious  that,  although  I  always  felt 
he  was  wiser  than  most  men,  I  do  not  think  I  was  aware  of  the  great  estimation 


414  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


in  which  he  was  held,  and  of  late  years  his  tenderness  has  been  so  overflowing 
towards  his  family  that  I  have  lived  upon  his  love  and  affection,  and  forgotten 
his  greatness. 

"Monday,  Feb.  1,  1849. — We  have  had  great  pleasure  in  a  visit  from  Mr. 
Hoar  a  this  evening.  Mr.  H.  was  a  friend  of  my  dear  father's,  and  spoke  of  him 
with  a  reverence  and  admiration  which  went  to  our  hearts,  coming  from  such  an 
earnest  and  honest  spirit.  He  said  that  his  visits  to  father  had  been  a  source 
of  the  truest  intellectual  enjoyment  and  improvement,  that  Judge  Marshall 
considered  him  the  greatest  master  of  the  common  law  in  the  country,  and  that 
this  was  the  universal  opinion  among  lawyers." 

a  E.  Rockwell  Hoar. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  415 

C. 

REMINISCENCES  OF  MR.  MASON  BY  FRANCIS  BASSETT,  ESQ. 


From  an  article  which  appeared  in  the  "New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical 
Register"  for  October,  1871. 

In  the  year  1830,  the  year  before  I  was  appointed  Clerk  of  the  U.  S.  Circuit 
and  District  Courts,  I  made  an  assignment  for  one  of  my  clients  in  Boston,  of 
a  considerable  amount  of  property  in  real  estate,  and  a  factory  in  Charlestown, 
on  Connecticut  River,  in  New  Hampshire,  out  of  which  assignment  grew  a  law 
suit  of  importance,  which  was  the  last  that  I  was  ever  engaged  in  as  counsel, 
and  in  which  my  client  was  successful.  I  mention  this  fact,  because  it  is  con 
nected  with  my  first  acquaintance  (415)  with  Jeremiah  Mason,  whom  I  em 
ployed  to  act  with  me  as  senior  counsel.  In  walking  home  in  the  early  part  of 
the  evening  with  Mr.  Webster,  from  a  dinner  party  in  Boston,  I  stated  to  him 
that  I  was  about  to  have  a  pretty  important  lawsuit  to  manage  in  New  Hamp 
shire,  and  I  had  concluded  to  engage  Mr.  Mason  to  act  with  me  as  senior  coun 
sel.  He  instantly  answered,  "I  am  glad  to  hear  it;  and  I  will  give  you  a  letter 
to  him,  who  is  one  of  the  cleverest  fellows  you  ever  met.  You  will  like  him." 
And  he  paid  me  the  compliment  of  saying,  "he  will  like  you."  He  then,  in  his 
graphic  way,  described  to  me  his  particular  friend,  Mr.  Mason.  He  said  he  had 
spent  some  years  in  the  vigor  of  manhood  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  where  he  had 
Mr.  Mason  as  his  opponent  in  most  of  the  important  cases  which  he  argued  in 
that  State.  He  said  that  since  he  left  Portsmouth  and  removed  to  Boston,  he 
had  been  engaged  in  cases  at  Washington,  where  he  had  for  his  antagonists,  he 
believed,  most  of  the  ablest  counsel  in  the  United  States,  and  that  he  did  not 
know  how  much  allowance  he  ought  to  make  for  early  associations,  but  he  could 


416  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

say,  that  there  was  no  lawyer  in  the  United  States  that  he  should  fear  so  much 
to  come  in  contact  with  as  opposing  counsel,  as  Mr.  Mason.  This  anecdote  shows 
the  high  opinion  Webster  had  of  Mason's  ability  as  a  lawyer,  and  their  long  con 
tinued  friendship  shows  the  esteem  and  veneration  in  which  he  held  him  as  a 
man. 

The  commencement  of  my  acquaintance  with  Jeremiah  Mlason  I  have  already 
stated.  It  continued  with  intimacy  from  the  time  he  removed  from  Portsmouth 
to  Boston,  until  his  death.  We  used  frequently  to  have  conversation  upon  im 
portant  subjects,  and  his  acute  and  capacious  mind  enabled  him  to  be  interest 
ing  and  instructive.  He  once  remarked  that  he  considered  Franklin  and  Ham 
ilton,  though  quite  different,  the  two  greatest  minds  of  this  nation,  but  he  was 
unable  to  decide  which  in  his  opinion  was  the  greatest.  He  said  that  Hamilton, 
in  his  reports  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  had  presented  all  the  arguments 
that  could  be  urged  in  favor  of  the  constitutionality  and  expediency  of  a  nation 
al  bank  and  tariff,  and  but  little  had  been  added,  in  all  the  subsequent  discus 
sions,  upon  these  subjects. 

He  once  remarked  to  me  that  Chancellor  Kent  and  Judge  Story  were  the 
only  members  of  the  legal  profession  in  this  country,  thoroughly  learned  in  equity 
jurisprudence. 

The  following  anecdote  of  Mr.  Mason,  furnished  also  by  Mr.  Bassett,  has 
not  before  appeared  in  print: — 

Mr.  Mason  told  me  that  once  during  Jefferson's  administration  he  had  oc 
casion  to  go  to  Virginia  upon  business,  and  he  took  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
Pierpont  Edwards,  who  was  an  acquaintance  of  Jefferson  and  of  some  distinction 
as  one  of  his  political  associates.  When  he  visited  Monticello  he  met  the  Presi 
dent  standing  at  the  door  waiting  for  his  horse  to  be  brought  for  him  to  take 
his  accustomed  ride.  He  handed  him  his  letter,  and  after  Jefferson  had  read  it, 
he  received  him  very  cordially  and  requested  him  to  walk  into  the  parlor  and 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  417 

be  seated,  where  (416)  he  stayed  about  an  hour  and  had  a  very  interesting  con 
versation  with  the  President.  The  purchase  of  Louisiana  was  the  important 
subject  which  excited  the  attention  of  the  two  great  political  parties  of  the  na 
tion  at  that  time.  Mr.  Jefferson  soon  began  to  express  his  views  upon  the  ques 
tion  of  annexation  and  how  the  interests  of  the  nation  would  be  promoted  by 
effecting  it.  Mason  was  a  rigid  Federalist  and  opposed  to  the  administration  and 
to  the  measure  about  to  be  adopted.  After  hearing  the  reasons  stated  by  Jef 
ferson  in  favor  of  purchasing  and  making  Louisiana  a  part  of  the  United  States, 
stated  in  his  ingenious  and  captivating  manner,  he  confessed  that  his  zeal  in 
opposition  was  quite  moderated.  This  elaborate  and  eloquent  disclosure  of  his 
views,  Mason  attributed  to  the  fact  that  Jefferson  had  been  informed  by  Ed 
wards  that  he  was  a  lawyer  of  some  reputation  in  New  Hampshire,  and  that  by 
his  stating  the  reasons  urged  by  the  President  in  favor  of  the  purchase,  it 
would  be  likely  to  have  a  favorable  effect  in  the  New  England  States,  where  he 
had  to  encounter  the  greatest  opposition.  This  interview,  Mason  said,  afforded 
him  evidence  of  the  ability  of  Jefferson  to  meet  opposition  by  his  extensive 
knowledge  and  persuasive  eloquence,  which  he  considered  the  principal  cause 
of  his  success  as  a  political  ruler. 


D. 

ANECDOTE  OF  MR.  MASON  WHEN  TRAVELLING  ON 
SUNDAY  IN  CONNECTICUT. 


COMMUNICATED   BY  HIS  DAUGHTER,   MRS.   ELLISON. 

"I  was  returning  home  from  college  one  vacation,  and  having  been  overtaken 
by  a  severe  rain  storm,  Saturday  evening,  stopped  at  a  tavern  some  dozen  miles 
from  my  home,  and  Sunday  morning,  it  being  fine  weather,  I  mounted  my  horse, 


418  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

which  was  a  powerful  one,  lent  or  given  me  by  my  grandfather,  and  jogged  on 
through  a  sandy  road  with  pine  forests  on  each  side.  I  had  just  passed  a  small 
meeting-house,  and  it  was  near  meeting  time,  when  I  was  accosted  by  a  quiet- 
looking  little  man  on  a  small  nag,  who  said,  'Are  you  travelling  on  the  Lord's 
day?'  I  told  him  my  reason  and  that  I  was  only  on  my  way  to  my  home,  having 
been  prevented  by  the  storm  the  previous  evening.  He  told  me  he  was  a  justice 
of  the  peace,  and  that  his  duty  was  to  stop  me  and  see  that  I  went  to  meeting  all 
day,  and  after  sunset  I  (417)  might  proceed  on  my  journey.  After  some  discus 
sion,  in  which  I  told  him  I  could  not  and  would  not  stay,  he  still  said  his  duty  was 
to  stop  me.  'How  will  you  do  it?'  At  this  he  drew  his  horse  across  the  road  and 
left  no  room  for  me  to  pass.  With  that  I  wheeled  my  horse  about  and  rode  back 
some  paces  and  then  faced  him.  He  said,  'What  do  you  mean  to  do?'  'To  come 
on/  meaning  to  take  a  flying  leap.  With  this  view  of  the  case,  my  friend  asked 
for  a  parley,  and  after  some  more  discussion  finding  me  still  decided,  he  ended 
by  saying,  'If  you  can  promise  me  to  go  to  meeting  this  afternoon,  and  can  also 
solemnly  say  you  think  it  is  your  duty  to  go  on,  I  will  allow  you  to  pass.'  Telling 
him  I  never  doubted  for  a  moment  it  was  a  duty,  I  proceeded  on  my  journey." 


E. 

DEDICATION  TO  MR,  MASON  BY  JUDGE  STORY  OF  HIS 
COMMENTARY  ON  EQUITY  PLEADING. 


TO  THE  HONORABLE  JEREMIAH  MASON,  LL.  D. 

SIR, — I  esteem  it  a  great  privilege  to  have  the  opportunity  of  dedicating  this 
work  to  you.  Few  circumstances  in  my  life  could  be  more  grateful,  than  those 
which  enable  me  to  inscribe  on  the  pages,  which  contain  my  own  juridical  labors, 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  419 

the  memorials  of  my  private  friendships,  as  well  as  the  avowals  of  my  reverence 
for  the  great,  the  good,  and  the  wise.  Your  own  enviable  distinction,  so  long 
held  in  the  first  rank  of  the  profession,  and  supported  by  an  ability  and  depth 
and  variety  of  learning,  which  have  had  few  equals,  and  to  which  no  one  can 
bear  a  more  prompt  and  willing  testimony  than  myself,  would  alone  entitle  you 
to  a  far  higher  tribute,  than  any  I  can  bestow.  I  well  know  that  I  speak  but 
the  common  voice  of  the  profession  on  this  subject;  for  they  have  well  understood 
the  vigor  and  the  weight  of  that  lucid  argumentation,  which  has  spoken  in 
language  for  the  cause,  and  not  merely  for  its  ornament:  Neque  id  ipsum 
tarn  leporis  causa,  quoquam  ponderis.  (Nor  is  this  thing  I  do,  so  much  an  occa 
sion  of  lightness  and  pleasure  to  me,  as  one  of  gravity  and  moment. — Mr.  Story 
means  to  say  the  dedication  is  not  made  in  a  spirit  of  sprightliness,  in  the  way 
or  a  compliment,  but  in  deep  appreciation  of  Mr.  Mason's  worth.)  But  I  confess 
myself  more  anxious  to  be  allowed  to  consider  this  dedication,  as  a  tribute  to 
your  exalted  private  worth,  spotless  integrity,  and  inflexible  public  principles,  as 
well  as  a  free  expression  of  my  own  gratitude  for  your  uniform  friendship;  .  .  . 
a  friendship  which  commenced  with  my  first  entrance  among  the  bar,  in  which 
you  were  then  the  acknowledged  leader  (a  period,  when  the  value  of  such  unex 
pected  kindness  could  not  but  be  deeply  felt,  and  fully  appreciated),  and  which 
has  continued,  undiminished,  (418)  up  to  the  present  hour.  Such  reminiscences 
are  to  me  more  precious  than  any  earthly  honors.  They  fade  not  with  the 
breath  of  popular  applause;  and  they  cheer  those  hours,  which  as  age  approaches, 
are  naturally  devoted  to  reflections  upon  the  past,  for  instruction,  as  well  as 
for  consolation. 

I  am,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  obliged  friend, 

JOSEPH  STORY. 

CAMBRIDGE,  January  1,  1838. 


—28 


420  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


F. 


LETTERS  TO   MEMBERS   OF   MR.    MASON'S   FAMILY   AFTER 

HIS  DEATH. 


GEORGE  TICKNOR  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

MANCHESTER,  October  20,  1848. 

MY  DEAR  MRS.  MASON, — Mrs.  Ticknor  goes  to  Boston  to-morrow,  in  the  hope 
of  seeing  you,  and  offering  you  our  very  sincere  sympathy  in  your  sorrow  and 
in  that  of  your  house.  She  will  do  it  more  tenderly  than  I  could;  but  still  I  must 
ask  to  say  a  few  words  for  myself.  I  have  known  Mr.  Mason,  during  nearly  the 
half  of  his  long  life,  and  during  the  whole  of  the  active  period  of  my  own;  but 
in  all  that  time  I  have  known  no  man,  however  distinguished,  who  felt  himself 
too  wise  to  seek  his  counsel,  or  too  experienced  in  the  ways  of  the  world  to  profit 
by  his  experience.  He  was  trusted,  I  think,  by  the  greatest  and  best  among  us, 
more  than  any  other  man  in  New  England;  and  he  deserved  the  confidence  he 
enjoyed,  by  his  extraordinary  and  peculiar  intellectual  power;  by  his  admirable 
wisdom;  and  by  his  severe  and  faithful  integrity.  All  men  knew  they  could  de 
pend  upon  him.  But  who  knew  it,  like  those  who  depended  upon  his  affections? 
My  dear  Mrs.  Mason,  I  have  little  right  to  allude  even  to  your  loss.  But  you 
will  I  know  allow  me  to  express  my  sympathy  in  it,  and  my  grief  at  what  I  have 
lost  myself;  grateful  that  I  have  known  such  a  man  so  long,  and  that  God  has 
taken  him  from  us  so  gently,  so  kindly. 

With  affectionate  regards  to  all  your  family,  believe  me,  dear  Mrs.  Mason, 
very  faithfully  your  friend,  GEORGE  TICKNOR. 

MRS.  J.  MASON,  TREMONT  STREET.  (419) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  421 

PROFESSOR  A.  S.  PACKARD  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

BRUNSWICK,  November  3,  1848. 

MY  DEAR  MRS.  MASON, — . . .  .It  seems  but  a  few  days  since  I  saw  you  all  in 
usual  health  and  happiness.  Mr.  Mason  was  cheerful  and  cordial  the  morning  I 
saw  him  last.  I  thought  he  appeared  more  oppressed  by  bodily  infirmity  when 
I  saw  him  in  the  spring,  and  for  the  first  time  I  then  thought  of  him  as  an  old 
man;  but  I  saw  nothing  then  or  in  September,  which  led  me  to  imagine  that  I 
might  not  often  meet  him  again.  It  is  surely  a  consolation  to  the  family,  that 
he  was  spared,  what  he  seemed  to  dread,  wasting  and  painful  disease,  and  all 
the  discomforts  of  an  imbecile  and  helpless  old  age;  that  he  enjoyed  almost  to 
the  very  last,  full  possession  of  his  remarkable  powers,  and  when  summoned 
was  permitted  to  sink  quietly  to  rest,  free  from  pain  or  distress.  I  have  been 
much  interested  in  the  testimonials  which  have  been  bestowed  so  cordially  and 
so  justly  to  his  pre-eminent  merits  both  in  public  and  private  life.  Such  dis 
tinguished  notices,  while  they  may  aggravate  the  sense  of  bereavement,  yet  must 
be  highly  gratifying  to  you  all.  As  for  myself,  I  have  always  found  it  difficult 
to  express  my  own  impressions  of  his  great  intellectual  resources,  and  have 
ever  esteemed  it  among  the  highest  and  most  distinguished  privileges  of  my  life, 
that  I  have  been  permitted  to  listen  to  his  conversation  and  enjoy  its  quicken 
ing  influence  on  my  own  mind 

CHARLES  SUMNER  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

COURT  STREET,  November  14,  1848. 

MY  DEAR  MRS.  MASON,— I  have  just  returned  from  listening  to  Mr.  Webster's 
touching  tribute  to  your  late  husband.  As  his  words  sank  into  my  soul,  I  felt 
anew  the  irreparable  loss  we  have  all  sustained, — his  family,  his  friends,  and 
his  country.  I  was  absent  from  home,  when  I  heard  of  his  death,  and  it  was  a 
source  of  deep  regret,  mingling  with  my  deeper  grief  for  his  departure,  that  I 


422  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

could  not  join  in  the  last  tribute  of  religion  and  affection  to  his  remains. 

I  have  longed  to  assure  you  of  my  sympathy.  I  have  sat  often  in  pleasant 
converse  with  him  at  your  fireside,  and  think  of  those  hours  with  gratitude  and 
delight.  They  rise  to  my  memory  now,  filling  the  period  which  has  passed  from 
my  youth  upwards,  among  those  happy  recollections  which  I  shall  bear  with  me 
to  my  grave.  Let  me,  then,  tell  you  how  sincerely  I  mourn  with  you,  how  much 
I  rejoice  also,  in  the  satisfaction  of  a  well-spent  life,  and  in  his  present  peace. 
To  die  so  full  of  years,  and  after  so  much  honorable  service,  may  well  fill  us  at 
once  with  emotions  of  grief  and  thanksgiving.  Of  grief  for  what  we  lose,  but 
of  thanksgiving  for  all  that  we  have  had.  (420) 

I  trust  soon  to  have  the  pleasure  of  calling  upon  you  and  sitting  again  at 
the  same  fireside,  where  I  have  so  often  listened  to  him,  whose  face  I  shall  see 
no  more  on  earth. 

Believing  me,  my  dear  Mrs.  Mason. 

Affectionately  yours,  CHARLES  SUMNER. 

W.  PLUMER,  JR.,  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

EPPING,  March  20,  1849. 

DEAR  MADAM, —  ....Mr.  Mason  was  one  of  the  few  very  great  men  with 
whom  it  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  be  acquainted.  For,  though  for  the  last 
thirty  years,  I  have  had  more  or  less  intercourse  with  many  called  great,  I  have 
not  been  in  the  habit  of  putting  more  than  a  very  few  of  them  into  the  first  rank 
of  greatness.  Mr.  Mason  was,  in  many  respects,  entitled  to  take  his  stand  in 
the  first  rank.  If  he  had  earlier  removed  to  Boston,  and  extended  his  practice  to 
the  Supreme  Court  at  Washington,  he  would  have  built  up  for  himself  a  national 
reputation  as  indisputably  the  first  lawyer  of  the  Union.  As  it  is,  his  reputation 
is  scarcely  less  extensive.  My  father's1  object  in  offering  him,  many  years 
1  Mr.  Plumer's  father  was  Governor  of  New  Hampshire. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  423 

since,  a  seat  on  the  Bench,  was,  that  he  might  thus  be  enabled  to  do  the  State 
the  inestimable  service  of  laying  broad  and  deep  the  foundations  of  her  juris 
prudence,  in  a  series  of  decisions,  which  would,  at  the  same  time,  have  done 
lasting  honor  to  their  author.  It  was  a  source  of  much  regret  to  him,  that 
circumstances  deemed  by  him  imperious,  prevented  his  accepting  that  appoint 
ment.  When  I  revert  to  the  many  acts  of  kindness  and  attention  which  I  have 
experienced  from  Mr.  Mason  and  his  family,  for  more  than  thirty  years  past, 
I  feel  how  great  is  their  loss  and  how  much  I  am  their  debtor.  Now  that  he  is 
gone,  I  feel  more  sensibly  than  ever,  regret  for  the  opportunities  I  have  neglect 
ed,  of  more  frequent  and  profitable  intercourse  with  so  remarkable  a  man;  and 
especially  that  I  have  not  recorded  some  of  the  many  things  worthy  of  note,  with 

which  he  favored  me  in  my  different  interviews  with  him 

Your  obliged  and  obedient  servant,  W.  PLUMER,  JR. 

EDWARD  EVERETT  TO  MRS.  MASON. 

CAMBRIDGE,  March  24,  1849. 

DEAR  MADAM, — I  had  the  honor  to  receive  a  day  or  two  ago,  a  copy  of  the 
proceedings  in  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  on  occasion  of  the  decease  of 
your  late  honored  and  lamented  husband.  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  you  for  doing 
me  the  favor  of  sending  me  this  interesting  and  valuable  pamphlet.  The  tributes 
which  it  contains  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Mason,  by  some  of  those  most  competent 
to  (421)  pronounce  his  eulogy,  appear  to  me  in  no  degree  extravagant.  They 
utter  what  all  who  knew  him  felt,  though  few  could  express  it  so  well.  My  ac 
quaintance  with  Mr.  Mason,  never  I  am  grieved  to  say  an  intimate  one,  com 
menced  at  an  early  period  of  my  life;  as  long  ago  as  1814.  He  showed  to  me, 
an  unknown  youth  on  a  hasty  visit  to  Washington,  the  most  marked  and  flatter 
ing  attentions,  which  awakened  in  me  a  feeling  of  personal  regard — independent 
of  the  respect,  which  every  one  felt  for  his  talents  and  dignified  character  and 


424  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

manner.  From  that  time  forward,  though  not  frequently  enjoying  the  privilege 
of  his  personal  intercourse,  I  never  met  him  without  receiving  from  him  some 
word  of  kindness,  which  kept  fresh  and  strong  the  feeling  of  attachment  which 
I  had  formed  for  him  from  the  commencement  of  our  acquaintance.  On  one  oc 
casion  he  used  an  expression  of  commendation  *of  a  public  performance  of  mine 
which  he  had  heard,  so  different  from  the  common  language  of  compliment,  that 
it  sunk  into  my  heart. 

It  would  be  presumptuous  in  me,  dear  madam,  to  intrude  further  upon  you. 
I  have  wished  only  to  add  the  offering  of  my  individual  feelings,  to  the  general 
sentiment  of  the  community,  which  has  reached  you  from  every  quarter,  and 
which  forms  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  consolation,  by  which  the  loss  of  the 
great  and  good  is  made  up  to  bereaved  survivors. 

That  you,  dear  madam,  and  your  family  may  have  the  enjoyment  of  higher 
sources  of  consolation,  than  any  which  human  sympathy  or  praise  can  furnish, 
is  the  respectful  wish  of  Your  faithful,  obedient  servant, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 

WILLIAM  R.  LAWRENCE  TO  R.  M.  MASON. 

BOSTON,  May  27,  1871. 

DEAR  ROBERT,  —  You  asked  me  some  weeks  since  to  furnish  some  reminis 
cences  of  your  honored  father.  It  is  more  than  twenty  years  since  he  died,  so 
that  many  things  which  he  said  have  faded  from  my  memory,  and  it  is  a  subject 
of  regret  that  I  did  not  make  a  record  at  the  time,  of  what  might  now  be  regard 
ed  with  interest.  My  recollection  of  him  goes  far  back,  when  you  and  I  were 
pupils  at  the  Lyceum  in  Gardiner,  Maine,  in  the  year  1827.  Three  days  were 
required  to  get  to  Gardiner  by  the  old  Eastern  line  of  coaches,  and  the  first 
night  I  usually  passed  at  your  father's  house  in  Portsmouth.  I  there  saw  him 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  425 

for  the  first  time,  and  though  somewhat  awed  by  his  presence,  soon  was  made 
to  feel  at  ease  by  his  kindly  nature  and  friendliness  of  manner.  I  became  much 
more  acquainted  with  him  in  1832,  after  he  had  taken  up  his  permanent  resi 
dence  in  Boston.  He  lived  only  four  doors  from  us  on  Tremont  Street,  as  you 
well  remember,  and  the  various  members  of  our  families  were  on  terms  of  the 
greatest  intimacy,  visiting  each  other  often  several  times  a  day.  You  know 
that  my  father  1  was  very  strenuous  in  his  efforts  to  induce  your  father  to  (422) 
remove  from  Portsmouth  to  Boston,  and  it  was  mainly  through  his  efforts  that 
the  fact  was  accomplished.  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  step  taken  was 
never  regretted,  but  was  the  means  of  adding  much  to  the  happiness  of  all  con 
cerned.  I  was  abroad  at  school  at  the  time  of  the  removal,  and  the  prospect  of 
such  an  event  was  a  constant  theme  of  my  father's  letters. 

On  March  21st,  1832,  he  writes:  "In  about  a  week  or  ten  days,  we  shall  have 
two  of  the  cousins  from  Portsmouth  to  see  to  putting  their  house  in  order,  for 
the  family  to  remove,  and  in  about  three  weeks  I  hope  they  will  be  quietly  settled 
down  by  our  side  in  their  own  house.  I  contemplate  their  residence  here  with 
great  satisfaction.  It  will  be  a  source  of  never  failing  profit  to  you  to  talk  to 
your  uncle  and  to  hear  him  talk." 

On  March  28th,  he  writes:  "Mr.  Mason's  family  will  all  be  here,  I  think, 
within  twenty  days,  and  it  would  seem  that  so  far  as  external  circumstances  are 
concerned,  my  family  will  have  the  means  of  happiness  in  a  higher  degree  than 
almost  any  other  in  the  land." 

On  April  21st,  he  says:  "Mr.  Mason's  family  are  quietly  settled  in  their  new 
home,  and  the  comfort  of  having  them  so  settled  I  am  satisfied  will  equal  all  my 
anticipations.  Some  of  the  members  of  each  family  are  in  and  out  a  number  of 
times  every  day,  and  your  uncle  M.  comes  in  frequently  and  gives  me  a  good 
sitting,  which  always  leaves  me  something  to  reflect  upon  after  he  has  gone. 

xThe  late  Amos  Lawrence. 


426  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

He  has  a  great  mind  and  has  arrived  at  that  period  of  life  when  it  is  agreeable 
to  him  to  find  good  listeners,  as  well  as  good  talkers.  The  last  seven  days  would 
have  been  long  days  to  me,  had  they  not  been  here.  You  must  be  careful  and 
give  him  exact  information  when  you  return,  otherwise  he  will  not  value  it.  His 
habit  is  to  gather  knowledge  from  all  sources,  and  he  never  forgets  what  he  has 
once  heard.  If  you  can  learn  anything  that  will  be  new  to  him,  I  shall  be  glad." 

You,  no  doubt,  can  appreciate  the  force  of  the  last  passages,  as  you  recollect 
your  father's  habit  of  what  might  be  truly  called  pumping  information.  Often 
when  I  was  enjoying  myself  with  the  younger  members  of  the  family,  no 
stranger  being  present,  he  would  draw  a  chair  by  the  side  of  his  own  at  the  end 
of  the  fireplace,  and  would  say  with  a  beckoning  gesture,  "Come  here,  W.,  and 
sit  by  me."  I  would  accordingly  take  the  chair,  and  prepare  myself  for  the 
questioning  I  knew  would  follow.  You  will  remember  his  position  and  posture 
on  such  occasions.  He  always  imparted  more  than  he  gained,  and  his  con 
versation  was  of  a  most  agreeable  kind,  only  he  would  often  ask  questions  about 
which  it  was  embarrassing  to  confess  ignorance,  and  to  which  one  could  hardly 
help  attempting  a  reply.  He  would  sometimes  cross-examine  me  on  some  point, 
and  when  he  got  me  into  a  corner,  was  always  kindly  and  considerate,  and  took 
no  unfair  advantage  of  my  ignorance.  Persons  who  met  him  in  the  routine  of 
business-life,  could  not  appreciate  the  genial  traits  which  he  manifested  in  the 
daily  intercourse  of  his  own  household.  His  conversation  was  entertaining  as 
well  as  instructive,  and  his  store  of  information  best  on  (423)  most  topics  which 
interested  him.  It  is  now  a  subject  of  real  regret  that  I  did  not  make  some 
memoranda  of  the  many  interesting  conversations  to  which  I  listened  for  so 
many  years.  I  shall  always  retain  pleasant  associations  with  his  memory,  and 
shall  esteem  it  a  great  privilege  to  have  enjoyed  such  free  and  unrestained  inter 
course  with  so  remarkable  a  man. 

Affectionately  your  cousin,  WM.  R.  LAWRENCE. 

R.  M.  MASON,  ESQ. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  427 

REV.  J.  H.  MORISON  TO  R.  M.  MASON. 

MILTON,  November  29,  1872. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  My  first  knowledge  of  your  father  was  gained  in  the  court 
house  at  Exeter,  in  the  autumn  of  1824.  For  several  years  while  I  lived  in 
Exeter,  most  of  the  time  a  student  in  the  academy,  it  was  a  great  privilege  to 
hear  the  arguments  of  prominent  members  of  the  Bar  in  important  cases.  Young 
as  I  was,  it  did  not  take  me  long  to  find  out  that  Mr.  Mason  was  by  far  the 
ablest  man  there.  Mr.  George  Sullivan,  the  attorney-general,  was  a  graceful, 
accomplished,  and  persuasive  speaker,  with  a  clear,  melodious  voice. 

Mr.  Ichabod  Bartlett  was  a  man  of  remarkable  adroitness  in  the  manage 
ment  of  a  case,  as  quick  as  a  flash  of  lightning  in  the  movements  of  his  mind, 
whether  to  inflict  or  parry  a  blow.  At  first  it  might  seem  as  if  he  were  the 
keenest  and  most  brilliant  advocate  of  them  all.  But  before  getting  through  the 

case  in  which  he  and  Mr.  Mason  were  engaged  on  opposite  sides,  it  was  plain 

I 
enough  that  he  was  obliged  to  put  out  all  his  strength  to  sustain  himself  against 

an  opponent  who  was  hardly  exerting  himself  at  all.  Mr.  Mason  seemed  always 
like  a  man  who  felt  himself  master  of  the  situation.  He  seemed  like  one  who 
had  taken  in  every  possible  hazard  and  complication  of  the  case  so  as  to  be 
prepared  for  it.  While  his  opponents  grew  excited  and  angry,  he  without 
emotion  and  apparently  without  exertion  would  give  out  his  short,  sharp  sen 
tences  which  cut  through  all  their  logic  and  left  them  often  helpless.  The  merci 
less  way  in  which  he  dissected  an  argument,  separating  all  the  cords  by  which 
its  parts  were  bound  together,  was  equaled  only  by  the  coolness  and  keenness 
of  the  questions  by  which  he  subdued  a  prevaricating  witness. 

Sometimes  he  would  seize  upon  the  single  strong  point  in  a  case,  and  by 
sheer  force  of  repetition  brush  away  the  apparent  sophistries  of  his  opponents, 
till  we  could  hardly  imagine  why  such  foolish  arguments  could  have  been  seri- 


428  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

ously  brought  forward.  I  remember  a  case  in  which  an  attempt  was  made  to 
break  a  will  by  proving  mental  incompetency  on  the  part  of  the  testator.  The 
testimony,  if  I  remember  right,  was  very  strong  and  not  easily  to  be  got  rid  of. 
But  Mr.  Mason's  one  point  was  that  the  testator  "had  mind  enough  to  know 
who  he  loved."  Clause  after  clause  of  the  opposing  argument  was  examined. 
Evidence  from  different  witnesses  (424)  was  reviewed  and  dissected;  but  all  in 
reference  to  this  one  point,  which  remained  in  spite  of  all  that  could  be  proved 
to  the  contrary.  Whatever  might  be  said  in  regard  to  the  strength  or  clearness 
of  the  testator's  mental  faculties  in  other  respects,  "he  had  mind  enough  to 
know  who  he  loved."  The  whole  argument  rested  on  that.  The  jury  could 
hardly  retain  anything  else  in  their  minds.  The  weight  of  reason  and  of  evi 
dence  was  nothing  so  long  as  it  left  tha^t  point  untouched.  The  verdict,  of 
course,  was  for  his  client. 

On  one  occasion,  before  Judge  Story  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court,  a 
distinguished  lawyer  from  Massachusetts  was  of  the  counsel  opposed  to  Mr. 
Mason.  He  spoke  fluently  and  gracefully,  in  a  manner  fitted  to  ma^e  a  pleasant 
impression  on  the  minds  of  the  jury  and  to  enlist  their  sympathies  on  his  side. 
He  concluded  by  referring  to  the  straitened  circumstances  of  his  client, 
"though,"  said  he,  "I  know  that  these  considerations  ought  to  have  no  weight 
with  you,  and  I  trust  entirely  to  the  justice  of  our  cause."  Mr.  Mason,  in  ris 
ing,  said,  with  a  strange  mixture  of  humor  and  severity  in  his  manner,  "I  agree 
entirely  with  the  remark  of  the  gentleman,  that  the  circumstances  of  his  client 
should  have  no  influence  on  your  decision,  and  I  should  have  assented  to  it  quite 
as  willingly  if  he  had  said  nothing  about  it."  He  then  went  on  with  his  argu 
ment,  and,  laying  open  the  whole  merits  of  the  case,  with  wonderful  clearness 
and  force,  seemed  to  leave  nothing  for  the  other  side  to  stand  upon.  Indeed, 
the  opposing  counsel  seemed  utterly  powerless.  Twenty  years  afterwards  I 
became  acquainted  with  the  Massachusetts  lawyer,  and  on  referring  to  this  case, 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  429 

I  found  that  his  recollections  of  it  coincided  entirely  with  my  own. 

Boy  as  I  was  when  I  heard  Mr.  Mason  at  the  bar,  I  was  very  much  impress 
ed  not  only  by  the  general  strength  of  his  reasoning,  but  his  extraordinary 
subtlety  and  ingenuity  of  mind.  The  last  time  that  I  heard  him — it  was  before 
Judge  Story,  in  a  purely  legal  argument  in  March,  1834,  I  think, — he  must  have 
shown  these  characteristics  very  decidedly;  for  Mr.  Webster  began  his  reply  by 
saying:  "May  it  please  your  Honor,  there  are  some  hairs  so  exceedingly  fine 
that  even  the  gentleman  himself  cannot  split  them." 

These  recollections  of  Mr.  Mason  can  have  no  value  except  as  showing  the 
impression  made  by  him  upon  a  boy  who  had  at  the  time  few  keener  enjoyments 
than  in  witnessing  the  sharp  and  powerful  encounter  of  legal  minds  at  the  bar. 
A  few  years  ago  Mr.  James  Rowe,  of  Bangor,  Maine,  told  me  an  incident  which 
he  thought  showed  the  most  extraordinary  readiness  and  presence  of  mind  that 
he  had  ever  known  of.  It  was  told  him  by  Mr.  Ichabod  Bartlett.  The  incident 
occurred  during  the  trial  of  a  case  in  which  the  most  important  evidence  against 
Mr.  Mason's  client  was  given  in  an  affidavit  by  an  old  political  and  personal 
friend  of  his.  As  Mr.  Mason  was  beginning  to  comment  on  this  evidence  with 
a  good  deal  of  severity,  Mr.  Bartlett,  partly  from  mischief  and  partly  to  soften 
the  force  of  the  strictures,  said  to  Mr.  M.,  "There  is  a  report  that  he  [the 
witness]  is  dead."  Mr.  Mason  was  evidently  very  deeply  moved  and  stood  silent 
for  a  moment,  when  Mr.  Bartlett,  fearing  (425)  that  he  had  carried  the  joke  too 
far,  added:  "But  there  is  some  reason  to  suppose  that  it  is  a  mistake."  Instant 
ly  Mr.  Mason,  with  very  strong  emotion,  exclaimed:  "Thank  God  for  that! 
Thank  God  for  that!  The  man  who  gave  that  affidavit  ought  to  have  time  for 
repentance." 

I  first  met  Mr.  Mason  at  Judge  Smith's  house  in  Exeter,  but  he  of  course 
would  not  remember  me.  In  May  or  June,  1838  or  1839,  I  met  him  with  his 
wife  and  one  of  his  daughters  at  Stockbridge.  The  cars  arrived  there  during 


430  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

a  violent  shower.  There  were  no  carriages  at  the  place,  except  one  which  had 
come  to  take  me  and  my  party  to  Lenox.  I  recognized  Mr.  Mason  and  offered 
him  my  carriage  to  take  him  and  his  family  to  the  hotel,  which  offer  he  very 
graciously  accepted.  The  next  day,  on  entering  the  stage-coach  at  Lee,  I  found 
myself  sitting  opposite  to  him,  he  and  his  friends  recognizing  me  as  one  whom 
they  had  met  the  day  before.  A  brisk  conversation  was  soon  begun  and  con 
tinued  through  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  going  over  a  great  variety  of  topics 
and  marked  by  the  qualities  of  his  strong  and  comprehensive  intellect.  I  was 
examined  and  cross-examined  with  a  severity  as  unrelenting  as  if  I  had  been  a 
witness  on  the  stand.  It  certainly  was  not  a  pleasant  position  to  be  in,  and  once 
or  twice  I  got  out  and  sat  by  the  driver,  merely  to  escape  the  searching  succes 
sion  of  questions  to  which  I  was  subjected  on  many  different  subjects.  Still 
there  was  a  singular  fascination  about  it,  and  after  a  short  respite,  I  found 
myself  drawn  back  again.  This  continued  through  the  day,  till  we  reached 
Springfield,  where  we  spent  the  night,  and  during  the  greater  part  of  the  next 
day,  till  we  reached  Worcester,  at  which  place  we  were  to  take  the  railroad 
train.  While  at  the  depot  in  Worcester,  Mr.  Mason  came  to  me,  and  in  the 
kindest  manner  possible,  invited  me  to  his  house  in  Boston.  It  was  a  great 
pleasure  to  accept  his  invitation.  I  was  in  the  habit  of  going  to  see  him  as  long 
as  he  lived,  and  was  always  received  and  treated  with  the  gentlest  and  most 
gracious  kindliness.  The  harshness  of  the  cross-examination  never  appeared 
again.  In  conversation  with  him  I  was  always  struck  by  his  strength  and  orig 
inality  of  mind,  his  shrewdness  and  penetration,  as  well  as  by  the  variety  and 
extent  of  his  knowledge.  But  that  which  impressed  me  most  of  all  was  the 
sentiment  of  tenderness  and  reverence  which  marked  his  whole  demeanor  and 
seemed  to  affect  the  very  tones  of  his  voice. 

There  was  something  very  childlike  in  his  humility.     In  the  Memoir  which 
I  prepared  of  Judge  Smith,  there  was  a  comparison  of  the  two  great  lawyers. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON,  431 

Before  publication,  I  placed  the  manuscript  containing  this  sketch  in  the  hands 
of  your  brother,  Rev.  Charles  Mason,  who  read  it  to  his  father.  I  had  qualified 
my  admiration  for  him  as  a  lawyer  by  intimating  that,  in  a  desperate  case,  he 
might,  perhaps,  sometimes  endeavor  to  prevent  a  verdict  against  his  client  by 
confusing  and  perplexing  the  minds  of  the  jury.  He  was  not  offended  by  the 
charge.  He  did  not  deny  its  truth.  But  he  seemed  grieved  by  it.  With  a 
humility,  which,  in  a  man  so  able  and  of  so  high  a  spirit,  was  extremely  affect 
ing,  he  said  very  gently  and  as  if  considering  whether  it  were  so  or  not,  that 
he  was  not  conscious  of  ever  having  done  (426)  anything  of  the  kind.  It  might 
be  true,  but  he  was  not  aware  of  it.  I  do  not  know  of  any  trait  of  character 
which  shows  more  real  greatness  of  soul  than  this  humility,  taken  in  con 
nection  with  his  extraordinary  intellectual  ability  and  the  consciousness  which 
he  could  not  fail  to  have  of  his  own  powers. 

He  could  be  very  severe,  terrific  in  his  denunciations  of  meanness  and  wrong. 
But  I  can  recall  no  instance  of  harshness  in  his  judgment  of  his  associates  or 
rivals.  His  tone  in  speaking  of  them  was  always  one  of  marked  deference  and 
kindliness.  He  was  a  very  earnest  Episcopalian,  and  in  the  first  conversation 
that  I  had  with  him  he  spoke  almost  contemptuously  of  the  looseness  of  church 
government  among  Congregationalists.  But  his  religious  sympathies  were  by 
no  means  confined  to  his  own  denomination.  Indeed,  in  his  personal  relations,  I 
do  not  think  that  the  consideration  of  denominational  associations  had  the 
slightest  influence  upon  his  feelings.  It  seemed  to  me,  as  I  saw  him  from  time 
to  time,  that  he  grew  every  year  more  thoughtful,  more  kindly  in  his  judg 
ments,  more  delicate  and  gentle  in  his  attention  to  others,  with  a  deepening  sense 
of  things  heavenly  and  divine,  attended  by  a  sentiment  of  reverence  like  that 
which  we  sometimes  see  in  a  little  child.  In  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  this 
gradual  mellowing  and  ripening  of  his  whole  character  was  more  especially 
observable.  The  great  man  was  growing  into  a  higher  form  of  greatness 


432  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

through  his  humility  and  the  transforming  graces  and  affections  of  a  Christian 
faith  received  into  the  heart  and  carried  out  in  his  life  and  conversation. 

These  are  some  of  the  impressions  which  he  made  upon  me.  Perhaps  I 
have  drawn  inferences  too  broad,  considering  the  slight  opportunities  which  I  had 
of  knowing  him.  But  there  are  some  natures  so  strong  in  their  great  endow 
ments,  so  simple  in  their  structure,  and  so  transparent  and  childlike  in  reveal 
ing  themselves,  that  we  can  hardly  be  mistaken  in  regard  to  them.  It  was  so, 
I  think,  with  your  father.  He  had  a  most  subtle  intellect,  but  there  was  no 
concealment  or  guile  about  him.  It  would  be  difficult  to  measure  the  extent  of 
his  powers  and  attainments  as  a  lawyer.  Only  the  greatest  masters  of  the 
theory  and  practice  of  the  law  could  do  that.  But  the  highest  qualities  of  his 
mind  and  character  showed  themselves  in  his  intercourse  with  his  friends,  and 
left  with  them  impressions  which  can  never  pass  away. 

With  sincere  regard,  I  am  very  truly  yours, 

JOHN  H.  MORISON. 

REV.  J.  S.  STONE  TO  R.  M.  MASON. 

CAMBRIDGE,  December  9,  1872. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  MASON  : — I  am  glad  to  learn  that  we  are  soon  to  have  a  Memoir 
of  your  honored  father.  As  his  life  not  only  measured  a  long  tract  of  the  his 
tory  of  our  nation,  but  was  also  itself  an  important  part  of  that  history,  it  is 
needless  to  say  (427)  that  the  proposed  work  is  a  public  desideratum;  and  as  I 
consider  our  common  Christianity  to  be  the  highest  and  best  element  in  our  na 
tional  heritage,  it  seems  to  me  very  important  that,  in  making  such  a  man  as 
Jeremiah  Mason  known  to  coming  ages,  his  Christian  character  should  hold  a 
conspicuous  place  in  the  record. 

When  your  father  came  to  Boston  in  the  year  1832,  he  was  not,  indeed,  a 
communicant  in  the  Church,  but  he  became  at  once  a  serious  and  earnest  at- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  433 

tendant  on  her  ministrations,  in  the  parish  of  which  I  was  then  Rector,  and 
after  a  short  time  openly  connected  himself  with  her  Fellowship.  He  was  then 
in  the  ripe  fullness  of  his  powers;  and  it  is  simple  justice  to  his  name  to  say 
that,  in  professing  himself  a  Christian,  his  act  was  no  idle  compliment  to  a 
reputable  custom,  no  unmeaning  compliance  with  a  mere  decent  yet  lifeless  form. 
Long  accustomed  to  sift  evidence  with  peculiar  skill,  and  to  weigh  the  merits 
of  a  cause  in  severe  balances,  his  great  mind  saw  in  Christianity  what  challenged 
his  free  assent  and  justified  his  heartfelt  homage.  The  calm  deeps  of  his  mind 
had  been  stirred,  and  its  inmost  recesses  reached,  by  a  more  than  human  power; 
and  when  he  knelt  before  the  consecrated  Symbols  of  his  Saviour's  Death  and 
Passion,  he  felt  not  that  he  was  bestowing  valuable  patronage  upon  a  needy 
cause,  but  that  he  was  paying  glad  homage  to  a  Divine  Master,  and  receiving 
high  honor  as  from  the  signet  of  a  Sovereign. 

In  some  of  the  non-essentials  of  Christianity,  especially  in  those  touching 
Ecclesiastical  Order,  he  did  not  always  accord  in  opinion  with  his  pastor;  but  in 
dealing  with  the  essential,  central  truths  of  the  Gospel,  that  pastor  always  found 
the  heart  of  his  great  hearer  in  live  harmony  with  the  theme.  As  long  as  I  re 
mained  in  St.  Paul's  I  had  in  your  father  one  of  my  most  attentive  and  appreci 
ative  listeners,  and  one  of  my  truest  and  most  cordial  supporters;  and  when 
I  left,  I  left  in  him  one  of  my  most  honored  and  trusted  friends. 

I  rejoice  to  think  that  the  forthcoming  Memoir  will  carry  down  to  coming 
generations  the  salutary  influence  not  only  of  a  noble  American  patriot  and 
citizen,  but  also  of  a  sincere  and  true-hearted  Christian  man. 

Ever  affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  S.  STONE. 
R.  M.  MASON,  ESQ. 


434  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

CHARLES  B.  GOODRICH  TO  R.  M.  MASON. 

BOSTON,  March  14,.  1873. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, —        ...... 

When  your  father  resided  at  Portsmouth,  after  his  return  from  Congress,  he 
received  from  prominent  gentlemen  residing  in  some  of  the  Southern  States, 
"Cases  Stated,"  upon  which  his  opinion  was  requested;  he  had  a  manuscript 
volume  in  which  some  of  his  opinions  were  copied.  Mr.  Macona,  of  North  Carolina, 
had  great  confidence  (428)  in  and  respect  for  his  opinions.  Mr.  Mason  had  an 
enlarged  and  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  law  in  all  its  branches.  In  his 
early  practice  at  Portsmouth  he  instituted  several  suits  known  as  "Writs  of 
Right,"  which  were  to  be  served  in  the  upper  part  of  the  State,  in  the  county 
of  Grafton.  In  the  service  of  these  writs  great  exactness  was  required.  After 
he  had  prepared  the  papers,  including  a  minute  and  exact  statement  of  the  mode 
of  service,  he  sent  for  Peyton  Randolph  Freeman,  a  young  lawyer  at  Ports 
mouth,  who  subsequently  became  very  able  in  all  matters  relating  to  the  law 
of  real  property,  who  answered  the  invitation.  Mr.  Mason  read,  and  explained 
to  him  the  papers  which  he  had  prepared;  requested  him  to  take  the  writs,  and 
to  see  in  person  that  proper  service  was  made.  Mr.  Freeman  said  to  him  "You 
are  right;  the  papers  are  correct."  Mr.  Mason  then  asked  him,  "What  do  you 
know  about  it?"  Freeman  said  he  had  borrowed  "Booth  on  Real  Actions,"  the 
only  copy  of  the  book  in  the  State,  which  he  had  copied  entire.  This  manuscript 
was  subsequently  destroyed,  with  the  library  of  Mr.  Freeman,  which  was  burned 
some  years  since. 

a  Nathaniel  Macon,  a  representative  and  senator  from  N.  C. ;  born  in  War 
ren  County,  N.  C.,  December  17,  1757;  pursued  classical  studies  and  attended 
Princeton  College;  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War;  served  as  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  1801-07;  elected  to  U.  S.  Senate,  1815;  re-elected  1819 
and  1825,  and  served  in  Senate  till  1828,  when  he  declined  re-election,  died  June 
29,  1837,  in  Warren  County,  N.  C. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  435 

Mr.  Mason,  and  several  other  gentlemen,  were  employed  to  defend  the 
sureties  of  a  deposit  bank,  in  a  suit  which  had  been  commenced  against  them 
by  the  United  States,  to  recover  money  which  had  been  deposited.  At  a  con 
ference  of  the  counsel  Mr.  Mason  suggested  that  his  juniors  should  prepare  the 
outlines,  or  skeletons  of  pleas  proper  to  be  filed.  One  prepared  seven,  another 
five;  a  third  wrote  out  twenty- three ;  and  they  met  to  consider  them.  The  de 
fendants,  who  had  individually  become  sureties  for  the  bank  at  the  time  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  made  an  arrangement  with  the  bank  for  a  deposit 
of  the  public  money,  were  directors  of  the  bank.  The  twenty-three  pleas  were 
read.  As  the  reading  proceeded,  Mr.  Mason  commented  upon  them,  saying, 
"That  is  very  well;"  "That  will  do;"  "That  is  immaterial."  After  some  ten  or 
fifteen  had  been  read,  the  reading  of  another  was  commenced,  which  was  found 
ed  upon  an  assumption  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  the  directors  of 
the  bank  had  conspired  to  defraud  the  defendants.  So  soon  as  the  character  of 
the  plea  was  disclosed,  Mr.  Mason  interrupted,  and  said,  "What  is  that — a  con 
spiracy — a  conspiracy  to  cheat — to  cheat  whom — a  conspiracy  by  the  defendants 
to  cheat  themselves."  The  result  of  this  comment  was  graphic.  The  plea  was 
rejected.  This  is  only  one  of  many  instances  in  which  the  acute  and  instantane 
ous  perception  by  Mr.  Mason  of  the  true  principle  or  point  at  issue  manifested 
itself. 

A  former  Chief  Justice  of  New  Hampshire  (Richardson)'1,  who  tried  the 
Dartmouth  College  case  in  the  State  Court,  an  able,  learned,  and  upright  judge, 
was  somewhat  impulsive,  quick,  and  off-hand  in  his  rulings  at  nisi  prius,  and 
occasionally  when  sitting  in  bank.  He  was  ready,  however,  to  hear;  and  if  satis- 

a  "Chief  Justice  Richardson  was  forty-four  years  old  when  he  sat  as  judge 
in  the  Dartmouth  College  case,  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Hampshire.  He 
was  a  graduate  of  Harvard,  a  member  of  Congress  from  Massachusetts,  in  1812, 
and  was  subsequently  re-elected;  but  being  averse  to  political  life,  resigned  and 
removed  to  Portsmouth,  in  his  native  State,  in  1814.  From  his  appointment  in 
1816,  till  his  death  in  1838,  he  was  Chief  Justice  of  the  highest  court.  Like 

—29 


436  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON, 

fied  he  had  made  a  mistake,  willing  and  quick  to  correct  it.  He  had  not  any 
pride  of  opinion  which  induced  him  to  adhere  to  any  mistake  which  he  had  made. 
On  one  occasion  Mr.  Mason,  at  a  trial  before  the  jury,  made  several  objections, 
which  were  overruled;  (429)  but  in  the  course  of  the  hearing  he  made  one  which 
was  sustained  by  the  Chief  Justice,  upon  the  announcement  of  which  Mr.  Mason 
said,  "Will  your  honor  stick?"  evidently  perceiving  that  upon  this  ruling  the 
case  was  with  him. 

Mr.  Mason  with  reluctance  accepted  the  presidency  and  direction  of  the 
Branch  Bank  of  the  United  States  at  Portsmouth,  at  the  urgent  solicitation  of 
the  parent  bank  at  Philadelphia.  He  managed  its  affairs  with  great  fidelity  to 
the  interests  of  the  bank,  at  the  same  time  extending  to  its  customers  and  to  its 
debtors  every  accommodation  and  leniency  which  could  with  propriety  be  grant 
ed.  The  objections  to  his  course  were  made  entirely  upon  political  grounds.  The 
president  of  the  branch  acted  as  loan  officer  of  the  government,  and  had  charge 
of  the  payment  of  pensions.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  gave  Mr.  Pickering, 
of  New  Hampshire,  who  had  been  appointed  loan  officer,  with  authority  to  pay 
pensions,  an  order  upon  the  branch  bank  for  the  papers  and  money  applicable  to 
their  payment.  Mr.  Pickering  called  at  the  office  of  Mr.  Mason,  presented  his 
commission  and  the  order  of  the  Secretary.  At  this  stage  of  the  interview  Mr. 
Mason  said,  "Have  you  any  other  business  with  me?"  To  which  Mr.  Pickering 
replied,  "No,  sir."  Mr.  Mason,  with  a  graceful  wave  of  his  arm,  said,  "Good 
morning,  sir."  Mr.  Pickering,  somewhat  astounded,  asked  if  he  declined  to  de 
liver  the  papers  and  pension  funds  in  his  hands.  To  which  Mr.  Mason  answered, 
"If  you  will  produce  an  order  from  Mr.  Biddle,  I  will  very  cheerfully  comply." 

Marshall's,  his  eyes  were  black,  piercing,  and  brilliant;  like  Marshall's,  his  hair 
was  black  as  a  raven's  wing;  but  unlike  Marshall,  he  had  a  full,  high  and  broad 
forehead.  In  learning  and  industry  he  ranked  with  Chief  Justice  Parsons.  He 
was  a  great  and  honest  judge.  *  *  *  His  reasoning  and  his  heart  alike  were 
as  open  and  ingenuous  as  the  light  of  day.  He  was  reverenced  by  the  people 
of  the  State  as  no  other  judge  ever  was."  Shirley's  Dartmouth  College  Causes, 
148-9. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  437 

In  truth,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  had  transcended  his  authority  in  at 
tempting  to  deprive  the  bank  of  some  of  its  chartered  rights.  This  was  one  of 
the  causes  which  induced  an  attack  upon  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  which 
subsequently  resulted  in  its  destruction. 

The  incidents  to  which  I  have  referred  are  similar  to  many  others,  which 
were  interspersed  in  the  daily  professional  life  of  your  father,  which  were  in 
structive  and  profitable  to  those  around  him.  Mr.  Mason  was  considered  by 
many  of  the  community  as  distant,  forbidding,  and  severe  in  his  bearing;  the 
impression  so  entertained  was  not  well  founded.  He  did  not  seek  for  or  regard, 
if  I  may  so  say,  the  popularity  of  the  street;  but  in  his  intercourse  with  neigh 
bors  and  friends  he  was  courteous,  bland,  and  kind,  to  an  extent  not  surpassed 
by  any  one.  I  shall  ever  cherish  his  memory  with  gratitude  for  the  many  kind 
nesses  which  he  extended  to  me  in  my  early  professional  efforts,  which  were 
not  discontinued  during  his  lifetime. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

C.  B.  GOODRICH. 
(430) 


G. 
MR.  MASON'S  FAMILY  AND  DESCENDANTS. 


MR.  MASON  was  married  on  the  6th  of  November,  1799,  to  Mary  Means, 
born  October  20th,  1777,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Mary  Means,  of  Amherst,  N.  H. 

Mrs.  Mason  possessed  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  feminine  graces  of  mind, 
heart,  and  character;  and  it  is  fitting  that  her  descendants  should  know  how 
beautiful  and  exemplary  her  life  was,  and  what  cause  they  have  to  reverence 
and  cherish  her  memory. 

From  her  letters  to  Mr.  Mason  before  and  immediately  after  her  marriage, 


438  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 


some  of  which  are  still  preserved,  it  appears  that  she  showed  at  an  early  period 
those  elevated  and  amiable  traits  which  grew  with  her  growth,  and  guided  her 
whole  future  life.  She  seems  to  have  had  from  the  beginning  a  deep  sense  of 
the  responsibilities  she  was  to  assume,  and  to  have  devoted  herself,  heart  and 
soul,  to  the  performance  of  the  duties  devolved  upon  her  by  her  new  relation. 

Aware  of  the  burden  of  labor  and  responsibility  which  rested  upon  her  hus 
band,  it  was  her  constant  aim  and  wish  to  take  upon  herself  the  whole  charge 
of  the  household,  and  thus,  as  far  as  she  could,  to  lighten  his  toils  and  relieve 
him  from  anxiety.  But  Mr.  Mason's  own  nature  was  sympathetic  and  careful. 
With  the  highest  estimate  of  his  wife's  character  and  capacity,  he  was  never 
quite  willing  to  allow  her  to  assume  all  the  weight  of  responsibility  which  the 
care  of  a  large  family  involves. 

As  will  have  been  seen  from  some  of  his  letters,  Mr.  Mason  was  of  an 
anxious  temperament,  a  little  disposed  to  anticipate  trouble,  and  provide  for 
it  before  it  came.  It  was  his  custom  before  he  left  home  either  for  Washington, 
or  to  attend  the  courts,  to  make  provision  in  advance  for  any  emergency  which 
might  arise  in  his  absence,  and  thus  relieve  his  wife,  as  far  as  possible,  from 
the  anxiety  she  would  naturally  feel  in  her  lonely  estate,  surrounded  by  a  large 
and  growing  family. 

The  period  between  1812  and  1815,  while  we  were  at  war  with  England,  was 
not  without  some  peril  to  the  population  on  the  seaboard,  and  large  towns  like 
Portsmouth  were  particularly  exposed  to  attacks  from  the  enemy.  During  these 
years  the  town  was  threatened,  or  was  thought  to  be,  more  than  once,  with  hos 
tile  demonstrations.  Whether  there  was  any  real  ground  for  alarm,  or  whether 
the  apprehensions  were  only  the  growth  of  timid  fancies,  is  doubtful;  but  of 
the  latter,  the  general  trepidation  was  as  great  as  if  there  had  been  just  cause 
for  dread. 

The  prospect  of  a  hostile  attack  was  not  a  pleasant  subject  of  contemplation 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  439 

for  a  man  of  Mr.  Mason's  temperament,  when  leaving  his  family  for  a  long 
journey,  or  an  indefinite  period.  He  took  all  possible  pains  to  provide  them  with 
the  needful  (431)  means  of  escape  should  the  enemy  land,  and  gave  his  wife 
careful  directions  what  to  do. 

Mrs.  Mason,  by  her  gentleness  of  nature  and  sweetness  of  manner,  won  the 
hearts  of  all  who  came  within  her  sphere.  She  was  the  friend  and  comforter 
of  the  sick  and  the  needy;  they  never  appealed  to  her  in  vain.  In  the  large 
social  circle  in  which  she  moved  no  one  was  more  respected  and  beloved.  Hos 
pitable  herself,  she  was  a  welcome  guest  in  every  house.  She  had  nothing  of 
the  bitterness  and  jealousy  which  sometimes  disturb  the  harmony  of  small  com 
munities.  Sweetness  of  temper,  sympathy,  and  patience,  were  among  her 
marked  traits.  She  never  thought  or  spoke  of  the  weaknesses  and  foibles  of 
her  acquaintances.  She  put  out  of  sight  what  she  could  not  approve.  She  won 
the  affections  of  all  by  her  uniform  courtesy  and  gentle  self-control.  As  said 
by  one  who  knew  her  well,  ''Mrs.  Mason  was  universally  respected  and  beloved; 
she  was  esteemed  the  model  and  admiration  of  her  sex  among  the  good  people 
of  Portsmouth."  Long  after  she  ceased  to  be  a  resident  of  that  town,  her  mem 
ory  continued  fresh  and  grateful  in  the  hearts  of  those  with  whom  she  had  been 
associated  in  all  the  relations  of  friends  and  neighbors.  "Her  refinement  and 
courtesy,  her  benevolence  and  hospitality,  were  held  in  grateful  remembrance." 
She  was  an  accurate  judge  of  character,  and  indulged  sometimes  in  a  playful 
pleasantry,  but  never  with  bitterness,  or  to  offend  the  susceptibilities  of  any  one. 
Mr.  Mason  was  not  so  guarded  in  his  strictures  on  the  society  around  him.  His 
comments  were  often  sharp  and  incisive,  and  sometimes  drew  forth  a  mild  re 
proof  from  his  wife.  These  were  not  always  effectual  in  checking  him,  though 
they  were  uniformly  taken  in  good  part.  Sometimes  an  animated  and  amusing 
discussion  would  arise.  Mr.  Mason,  by  way  of  defense,  qualifying  his  original 
criticism  by  some  playful  observation  which  yet  involved  a  new  sarcasm.  Then 
perhaps  he  would  withdraw  the  whole  sting  of  his  censure  by  some  kindly  re- 


440  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

mark,  calculated  to  soothe  any  wound  which  might  have  been  left  upon  his 
wife's  sensibilities.  Her  influence  in  truth  was  very  great  over  him,  and  it  was 
often  remarked  in  the  family  how  often  she  carried  her  point  in  the  end.  In 
her  gentleness  and  sweetness  there  was  nothing  of  weakness.  Her  character  was 
firm,  and  she  had  an  excellent  judgment,  for  which  her  husband  had  a  great 
respect,  and  often  expressed  it. 

The  prominent  traits  in  her  character  were  disinterestedness  and  kindness 
of  heart.  No  human  being  was  ever  more  free  from  the  taint  of  selfishness.  It 
was  her  delight  to  minister  to  the  happiness  of  others.  Her  life  was  filled  with 
deeds  of  charity  and  kindness,  flowing  from  a  warm  heart  and  a  self-sacrificing 
spirit. 

She  was  a  Christian  in  principle  and  practice.  Religion  ruled  and  colored 
her  whole  life.  It  was  the  foundation  on  which  all  her  virtues  rested.  From 
this  source  her  peace,  her  submission,  her  cheerfulness  came.  She  was  con 
spicuous  for  the  Christian  grace  of  humility,  which  shed  a  sweet  and  pure  in 
fluence  over  her  whole  life.  She  was  always  distrustful  of  herself.  If  the  graces 
of  the  Beatitudes  are  a  (432)  test  of  Christian  character,  for  her  we  may  just 
ly  claim  that  merit;  for  in  her  they  shone  conspicuously. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mason  were  in  the  habit  of  talking  about  the  probable  dura 
tion  of  their  lives,  and  on  one  of  these  occasions  he  told  her  that  she  would  sur 
vive  him,  and  finally  die  at  the  same  age  as  himself.  His  prediction  was  almost 
literally  fulfilled,  though  at  the  time  of  his  death  there  was  little  probability  of 
her  living  ten  years  longer.  She  died  April  10,  1858,  aged  eighty  years,  five 
months,  and  twenty-one  days,  having  exceeded  her  husband's  term  of  life  by 
only  four  days.  She  was  buried  at  Mount  Auburn  by  his  side. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mason  had  eight  children,  five  sons  and  three  daughters,  of 
whom  five  are  deceased,  namely, — 

George  Means  Mason,  born  October  3,  1800;  died  August  16,  1865. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  441 

Mary  Elizabeth  Mason,  born  May  18,  1802;  died  April  29,  1859. 
Alfred  Mason,  born  March  24,  1804;  died  April  12,  1828. 
James  Jeremiah  Mason,  born  June  13,  1806;  died  June  13,  1835. 
Charles  Mason,  born  July  25,  1812;  died  March  23,  1862. 

GEORGE  MEANS  MASON. 

George  Means  Mason,  the  eldest  son  and  eldest  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mason,  had  his  early  education  in  Portsmouth,  at  such  schools  as  the  town  then 
contained;  but  as  he  grew  older,  and  better  means  were  required  for  the  train 
ing  of  his  mind,  and  to  prepare  him  for  college,  for  which  he  was  destined,  he 
was  placed  under  the  charge  of  Dr.  Coffin,  a  gentleman  of  scholarly  attainments, 
well  fitted  to  discharge  the  trust  he  assumed.  Dr.  Coffin's  family  was  highly 
esteemed  in  Portsmouth.  The  writer  of  this  has  a  vivid  recollection  of  the 
venerable  and  ladylike  appearance  of  Mrs.  Coffin,  whose  attractive  aspect  and 
manners  secured  her  general  regard.  Their  children  had  the  same  amiable 
qualities,  and  were  favorites  with  their  friends  and  contemporaries. 

During  a  portion  of  Mr.  Mason's  absence  in  Washington,  George  lived  in 
Dr.  Coffin's  family,  as  it  became  necessary  to  distribute  the  children  where  they 
could  best  be  taken  care  of,  Mrs.  Mason  having  accompanied  her  husband  to 
Washington  during  one  of  the  sessions  of  Congress.  George  naturally  fell  un 
der  the  charge  of  his  teacher,  this  arrangement  affording  greater  facilities  for 
the  prosecution  of  his  studies. 

Here  he  remained  till  he  was  fitted  for  Bowdoin  College,  at  that  time  pre 
sided  over  by  the  Rev.  Jesse  Appleton,  D.  D.,  whose  name  appears  in  the  Memoir 
as  one  of  Mr.  Mason's  correspondents.  Dr.  Appleton  was  Mr.  Mason's  brother- 
in-law,  and  thus  that  institution  had  peculiar  claims  on  the  latter's  regards,  and 
two  of  his  sons  were  educated  there.  (433) 

George  passed  through  college  very  creditably,  though  he  was  not  very  care 
ful  in  the  observance  of  the  college  rules.  This  sometimes  exposed  him  to  cen- 


442  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

sure,  but  his  natural  abilities  enabled  him  to  master  with  ease  the  required 
studies  without  any  great  application.  In  those  days  the  course  of  study  in  the 
colleges  of  New  England  did  not  task  the  powers  of  the  students  so  much  as  is 
now  the  case. 

After  leaving  college,  George  entered  his  father's  office  as  a  student,  and 
there  he  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  all  the  varied  business  of  a  lawyer  in 
large  practice.  But  whether  from  the  want  of  a  natural  taste  for  the  profes 
sion,  and  the  skill  in  applying  his  knowledge,  or  for  some  other  reasons,  he  did 
not  seem  to  be  able  to  make  the  results  of  his  law  studies  available  for  the  ac 
tive  and  profitable  pursuit  of  the  profession. 

His  father,  seeing  this  disability,  and  thinking,  and  perhaps  rightly,  that 
his  chance  of  ultimate  success  would  be  better  by  a  removal  to  another  and  an 
independent  sphere  of  action,  where  he  would  be  thrown  on  his  own  resources, 
advised  him  to  take  up  his  residence  in  Boston. 

George  accordingly  removed  there,  and  opened  an  office.  He  did  not  long 
remain  in  Boston,  but  moved  by  a  desire  to  see  something  of  the  Western  coun 
try,  then,  as  now,  rapidly  filling  up  with  emigrants,  but  in  larger  proportion 
than  now  from  the  Eastern  States,  he  made  a  journey  to  Ohio.  Here  he 
gained  many  valuable  friends,  and  learned  much  by  personal  observation  of  the 
condition  and  prospects  of  the  country.  His  purpose  had  been  to  settle,  and 
pursue  his  profession  there,  but  he  satisfied  himself  that  the  qualities  essential 
to  success  in  that  region  were  of  a  more  energetic  and  enterprising  nature  than 
he  possessed.  He  had  not  the  pushing  ways  necessary  to  get  business.  He  had 
not  resolution  enough  to  put  himself  forward  prominently  before  that  class 
from  whom  business  was  to  be  expected.  With  superior  knowledge  and  abilities, 
he  was  held  back  by  reserve  and  self-distrust,  and  to  such  a  degree  as  to  make 
almost  useless  the  talents  and  acquirements  which  he  unquestionably  possessed. 

His  mind  was  well  stored  with  book  knowledge,  both  in  law  and  general  liter 
ature.  v 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  443 

On  his  return  from  Ohio  he  resumed  his  place  in  his  father's  office,  taking 
upon  himself  much  of  the  labor  he  was  so  well  qualified  to  perform  in  the  prepar 
ation  of  cases  and  the  general  work  of  the  office.  Here  his  accuracy  of  detail, 
and  his  careful  investigation  of  authorities,  enabled  him  to  be  of  excellent 
service.  He  did  not  often  appear  in  the  courts,  but  when  he  did  it  was  always 
with  credit  to  himself. 

His  taste  for  reading  made  large  collections  of  books  attractive  to  him.  The 
Atheneum  was  his  favorite  resort,  and  when  the  Public  Library  in  Boston  was 
opened  it  was  much  frequented  by  him. 

He  wrote  occasionally  for  the  "North  American  Review,"  and  showed  a 
cultivated  mind  and  a  scholarly  style. 

The  circumstances  of  his  death  were  very  touching,  mysterious,  and  afflict 
ing.  (434)  He  had  accompanied  some  near  and  dear  relatives,  with  whom  he 
had  been  in  constant  intercourse  for  many  years,  to  the  steamer  in  which  they 
were  to  embark  for  Europe.  Taking  leave  of  them  with  sad,  though  not  greatly 
depressed  feelings,  he  went  to  an  office  he  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  to  look 
over  the  newspapers.  He  took  up  one  of  them,  but  in  a  few  moments  was  seen 
to  drop  the  sheet ;  his  head  fell  forward,  and  he  was  dead.  The  cause  of  his  death 
was  thought  by  his  physicians  to  have  been  an  affection  of  the  heart,  probably 
aggravated  by  the  mental  excitement  caused,  though  not  betrayed  at  the  time, 
by  the  separation  from  those  he  loved,  and  the  prospect  of  returning  to  a  lonely 
home.  It  happened  that  all  the  other  members  of  his  family  were  then  absent, 
and  the  gloom  that  came  over  him  was  a  proof  of  his  strong  domestic  attach 
ments,  and  his  dependence  on  the  affection  and  kindness  of  those  with  whom  he 
was  most  nearly  connected. 

MARY  ELIZABETH  MASON. 

It  will  have  been  seen  by  some  of  the  letters  in  the  Memoir  how  anxious 
Mr.  Mjason  was  to  imbue  the  mind  of  his  daughter,  when  she  was  quite  young, 


444  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

with  those  principles  and  rules  of  conduct  which  are  essential  to  the  highest 
excellence  of  the  female  character.  He  was  careful  to  urge  the  importance  of 
close  attention  to  her  studies,  not  neglecting  advice  as  to  the  acquisition  of  those 
accomplishments  which  every  well  educated  woman  should  possess.  From  him 
she  learned  how  much  of  the  happiness  of  life  depends  upon  domestic  affection 
and  offices  of  love  towards  members  of  the  same  household,  and  also  how  im 
portant  good  manners  are  in  winning  and  retaining  friends,  and  what  careful 
regard  should  be  had  to  the  tastes  and  feelings  of  others.  An  anxious  desire 
for  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  his  children  was  indeed  the  ruling  motive  of 
his  life.  For  this  he  gave  up  political  life  and  indulgence  of  ambitious 
aspirations,  because  they  took  up  so  much  of  the  time  which  he  thought  should 
be  given  to  his  family.  His  great  desire,  as  often  expressed  by  him,  was  to  give 
to  all  his  children  such  education  as  would  fit  them  to  discharge  worthily  and 
well  the  duties  to  which  they  might  be  called.  Beyond  this  he  did  not  expect  to 
do  much.  The  acquisition  of  property  was  never  a  leading  object  with  him.  He 
lived  in  a  hospitable  and  generous  style,  and  was  charitable  to  the  extent  of 
his  means,  and  thus  could  not  accumulate  any  great  amount  of  property.  His 
children  were  well  aware  of  this,  and  thus  never  formed  extravagant  expecta 
tions. 

His  careful  regard  for  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  his  children  was  well 
repaid  in  the  case  of  his  eldest  daughter.  His  advice  and  instruction  fell  like 
good  seed  on  rich  ground.  She  was  of  a  thoughtful  nature,  open  to  improving 
influences,  considerate  of  others,  and  faithful  to  all  the  duties  of  life.  Her 
heart  was  affectionate,  and  her  manners  gentle  and  winning.  Much  of  the 
symmetry  and  finish  of  her  character  was  due  to  the  teaching  of  her  father  and 
the  example  of  her  mother.  Her  friends  noticed  in  her  a  constant  moral  and 
spiritual  growth.  She  inherited  her  (435)  father's  good  sense  and  sound  judg 
ment,  and  with  these  were  combined  a  social  tact  and  a  sweetness  of  manner 
which  made  for  her  many  warm  friends.  Her  mind,  well  balanced  and  well 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  445 

constructed,  put  forth  its  powers  in  a  style  of  conversation  which  showed  at  once 
reflection  and  study.  Her  maners,  like  her  father's,  were  calm  and  self-pos 
sessed.  Her  heart  was  full  of  sympathy,  and  she  shared  alike  in  the  joys  and 
sorrows  of  her  friends.  Her  judgment  was  sound  and  deliberate,  and  she  never 
acted  from  sudden  impulse.  In  her  presence  and  movements  there  was  a  min 
gling  of  dignity  and  grace,  which  conciliated  at  once  respect  and  affection. 

Upon  a  heart  so  tender  and  sympathetic  as  hers  the  domestic  sorrows, 
which  are  the  lot  of  humanity,  and  from  which  Mr.  Mason's  family  was  not 
exempt,  fell  with  peculiar  weight;  and  they  gave  to  her  manners  a  tinge  of  sad 
ness,  but  without  any  touch  of  bitterness  or  gloom.  For  she  was  a  woman  of 
strong  religious  faith,  and  this  was  her  all-sufficient  support  in  all  her  trials. 
The  Christian  graces  of  humanity  and  self-sacrifice  shone  in  her  life  with 
peculiar  lustre.  The  touch  of  sorrow  only  served  to  increase  her  natural  tender 
ness  and  sensibility. 

As  her  father  advanced  in  years,  and  the  infirmities  of  age  began  to  press 
upon  him,  his  eldest  daughter  devoted  herself  to  him  with  a  touching  affection. 
She  watched  the  gradual  decay  of  physical  powers,  but  never  had  occasion  to 
mourn  the  darkness  of  mental  eclipse,  for  Mr.  Mason  retained  all  the  powers  of 
his  mind  to  the  last.  The  years  of  his  decline  were  serene  and  happy.  He 
was  undisturbed  by  the  cares  of  business,  and  his  whole  time  was  given  to  the 
society  of  his  family,  and  that  of  the  many  friends  who  visited  him  for  the  sake 
of  his  instructing  and  entertaining  conversation. 

It  was  Miss  Mason's  habit  to  record  what  was  interesting  to  her  in  a  diary, 
seen  by  none  but  herself  during  her  life.  The  extracts  from  it  which  follow, 
show  how  close  was  the  tie  which  bound  the  father  and  daughter  together,  and 
what  love  and  confidence  there  were  between  them.  Her  conversations  with  him 
were  not  confined  to  the  common  topics  of  domestic  life,  and  those  subjects  of 
public  interest  which  were  open  to  all;  but  they  often  turned  on  those 


446  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

solemn  themes  of  life,  death,  and  immortality,  on  which  men  do  not  open  their 
hearts  except  to  those  whom  they  fully  love  and  trust.  With  his  daughter,  who 
devoted  herself  to  him  with  such  tender  assiduity,  he  had  no  reserve.  And  she 
was  able  to  bring  to  the  discussion  of  such  questions  a  superior  mind,  cultivated 
by  reading  and  reflection,  and  exalted  by  a  strong  religious  feeling,  which  gladly 
led  her  father's  powerful  understanding  in  a  direction  so  congenial  to  herself. 

It  will  be  seen  by  Miss  Mason's  diary  that  the  great  aim  of  her  life  was  to 
minister  to  the  happiness  of  her  father  and  mother.  She  dreaded  the  hour 
when,  in  the  course  of  nature,  she  should  be  called  to  part  with  them;  and  felt 
that  after  such  separation  the  world  would  lose  much  of  its  attraction  for  her. 

The  death  of  her  father,  and  afterwards  that  of  her  mother,  did  actually 
wean  her  from  this  life,  and  she  was  prepared  at  any  moment  to  obey  the  sum 
mons  that  should  (436)  call  her  hence.  But  her  life  was  still  cheerful  and 
active.  Much  of  her  time  was  given  to  works  of  benevolence  and  charity,  and 
the  visiting  of  the  sick  and  destitute,  especially  in  the  interests  of  two  institu 
tions  with  which  she  was  closely  identified:  "The  Widows'  Society,"  and  the 
"Church  Home  for  Orphan  and  Destitute  Children,"  the  latter  founded  by  her 
brother,  the  Rev.  Charles  Mason.  This  most  beneficent  charity  enjoyed  the 
benefit  of  her  wise  counsel  and  devoted  care,  to  its  great  and  lasting  advantage. 

It  need  hardly  be  added  how  much  she  contributed  to  the  happiness  of  the 
family  circle  to  which  she  was  endeared  by  such  ties  of  affection,  the  surviving 
members  of  which  will  never  lose  the  precious  remembrance  of  her  admirable 
character  and  sweet  disposition,  and  the  ever  warm  sympathy  with  which  she 
made  their  joys  and  sorrows  her  own,  of  which  her  diary  contains  almost  daily 
proof.  Under  the  providence  of  God,  she  was  called  to  share  with  her  sister  the 
charge  of  her  brother's  children,  who  will  ever  remember  her  tender  and  watch 
ful  care. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  447 

A  few  extracts  from  Miss  Mason's  diary  are  here  given,  as  illustrating  her 
purity  of  character  and  strong  filial  affection: — 

April,  1843. — In  the  evening  several  visitors,  amongst  others,  Mr.  Hillard. 
Father  talked  with  him  of  his  professional  habits, — his  early  rising  and  hard 
working,  year  after  year;  but  after  all  it  was  the  best  profession,  and  he  would 
choose  it  again,  though  not  perhaps  New  Hampshire  as  the  field. 

Sunday*. — I  have  been  interested  in  reading  some  of  Mr.  Greenwood's  ser 
mons  on  Consolation.  Father  was  struck  with  their  poetic  beauty;  he  has  been 
troubled  with  rheumatism  several  days,  and  seemed  to  fear  a  tedious  confinement, 
and  I  was  surprised  to  see  with  what  a  quiet  spirit  he  spoke  of  it;  he  often 
laments  the  want  of  patience.  It  is  touching  to  hear  him  confess  with  so  much 
meekness  what  he  says  is  his  infirmity.  He  is  the  best  and  dearest  of  parents, 
and  seems  to  grow  more  tender  towards  his  children  every  year,  feeling,  as  he 
does,  that  each  may  be  his  last. 

In  speaking  of  the  effect  of  capital  punishment,  he  said  that  he  went  to 
Norwich  to  a  hanging,  when  he  was  about  ten  years  old,  which  frightened  him 
so  that  he  did  not  go  to  bed  for  years  without  thinking  of  it.  Since  that  time 
he  had  defended  half-a-dozen  criminals,  and  saved  them  all  from  that  punish 
ment;  he  said  he  preferred  being  on  that  side  to  the  other,  but  it  was  disagree 
able  business,  and  one  that  he  had  always  been  pressed  into. 

The  last  day  of  1843. — This  year  no  sickness  has  come  nigh  our  dwelling; 
our  beloved  parents  are  still  spared,  the  light  and  joy  of  our  home. 

April  28,  1844. — Yesterday  was  my  dear  father's  birthday;  it  was  a  pleasant 
day  to  us  and  to  him.  We  united  in  a  family  gift  of  a  Bible  to  him,  as  a  mark 
of  our  love  and  remembrance  of  the  occasion.  What  a  blessing  that  this  dear 
parent  has  been  spared  to  us  so  long.  (437) 

August,  1844. — I  came  home  from  Amherst,  finding  I  was  rather  missed,  and 


448  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON., 

had  a  delightful  greeting.     0!  how  happy  these  returns  are,  and  what  a  beloved 
home  has  mine  always  been. 

18th. — The  country  is  beautiful,  and  my  visit  to  Brookline  was  pleasant. 
We  came  in  to-day  to  church  and  heard  Dr.  Vinton,  after  an  absence  of  some 
weeks,  which  seemed  like  the  restoration  of  a  great  privilege.  Father  has  been 
hearing  and  reading  in  the  evenings  the  "Life  of  Lord  Eldon,"  with  great  interest. 
It  is  a  fine  English  edition  given  him  by  Robert,  which  adds  to  his  pleasure  in 
reading  it. 

September  10,  1844. — Father  and  mother  have  been  alone,  and  have  quite 
enjoyed  it,  for  a  few  days,  talking  over  old  times,  etc.  What  a  long  and  pleasant 
life  they  have  had  together;  they  have  concluded  that  if  they  live  to  their  half 
century  anniversary,  they  will  celebrate  it.  God  grant  they  may,  if  it  will  be 
for  their  happiness.  He  alone  knows  what  is  for  our  true  good;  but  if  that 
time  should  find  them  with  health  and  happiness  unimpaired,  it  would  be  a  bless 
ing  indeed.  What  a  long  and  happy  period  He  has  allowed  us  to  enjoy  on  earth 
together;  it  seems  to  me  now,  that  I  shall  have  no  object  in  life,  when  these 
beloved  parents  are  taken;  but  God  will  then,  I  trust,  draw  me  nearer  to  Him. 
September  17. — Father,  mother,  and  I  have  had  a  pleasant  journey  to 
Rhineland, 1  where  we  received  the  hearty  welcome  we  expected.  It  was  a  long 
journey  for  my  dear  father,  and  the  fatigue  and  annoyances  of  travelling  #re  so 
great,  that  I  do  not  think  he  ought  to  be  subject  to  them  at  his  time  of  life;  but 
we  have  returned  from  this  safely  and  after  much  enjoyment,  and  he  was  the  life 
and  centre  of  attraction.  How  proud  I  was  of  the  noble  old  man. 

December,  1844. — Jane  and  I  have  promised  to  be  with  Charles,  -  one  at  a 
time,  and  do  what  we  can  to  lighten  his  heavy  burthen  of  care.  It  will  involve 
a  separation  from  each  other,  and  from  the  dear  home  we  love  so  well;  but  the 

1  The  residence  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Rhinelander,  Long  Island,  N.  Y. 

2  After  the  death  of  his  wife. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  449 

hardest  separation  is  from  the  dear  old  man,  whose  hoary  head  is  our  crown  of 
rejoicing,  and  from  whom  I  feel  that  we  may  soon  be  called  to  part.  I  cannot 
bear  to  think  of  being  so  much  away  from  dear  father,  but  this  seems  to  be  a 
call  of  Providence,  and  our  duty  is  clear.  May  God  give  us  strength  to  fulfill  it. 

January  5,  1845. — In  thinking  of  Susan's3  life,  I  see  a  beautiful  exempli 
fication  of  the  Christian  character,  and  a  model  which  we  may  well  imitate.  In  our 
affliction  God  has  remembered  mercy,  and  I  would  bless  Him  that  He  has  spared 
my  beloved  parents  to  see  this  new  year. 

January  26,  1845. — This  is  probably  the  last  Sunday  that  I  shall  spend  in 
this  dear  home  for  three  months;  how  thankful  that  I  am  leaving  them  well,  but 
in  that  time  what  changes  may  occur.  .......... 

June  28. — My  dear  father  has  been  confined  with  lameness  to  his  chair  for 
nearly  a  fortnight.  It  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  be  with  him  to  cheer  a  little 
the  (438)  dullness  of  his  confinement.  He  has  been  very  patient,  and  it  is  a 
comfort  to  see  that  as  his  infirmities  increase,  so  does  his  gentleness  and  sub 
missive  spirit. 

November  25. — For  the  last  two  months  we  have  been  much  occupied  with 
our  beloved  Uncle  and  Aunt  Lawrence  in  sharing  their  anxieties  and  doing  what 
we  could  to  cheer  him,  when  she  was  devoting  herself  to  her  darling  son.  l  That 
object  of  tender  solicitude  is  now  removed.  Dear  Robert  breathed  his  last  yes 
terday  evening,  commending  with  his  last  utterance  his  soul  to  his  Saviour. 

After  her  father's  death. — .  .  .  but  my  dear  father  is  gone.  0  Heavenly 
Father,  take  now  my  whole  heart,  now  that  Thou  hast  taken  my  greatest  earthly 
stay. 

.     .     .     .     has  been  in  this  evening;  it  has  been  delightful  to  hear  him  talk 

3  Mrs.  Charles  Mason. 

1  Robert  Means  Lawrence,  who  died  at  nineteen  years  of  age. 


450  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

of  dear  father;  how  my  heart  warms  towards  those  who  loved  him  and  enjoyed 
so  much  his  society! 

.  .  .  .  seems  to  feel  deeply  his  own  personal  loss;  he  has  lost  a  sincere 
and  earnest  friend.  0 !  it  cheers  and  comforts  me  to  think  I  have  had  such  a 
father;  may  his  noble  qualities,  and  the  recollection  of  his  tender  love,  keep  me 
from  everything  small  or  mean;  all  about  him  was  genuine,  earnest,  and  true. 
God  forgive  me  if  I  have  ever  grieved  that  kind  heart.  How  my  longing  eyes 
look  in  vain  for  that  remarkable  form;  when  I  see  that  vacant  chair,  and  remem 
ber  the  hours  I  have  passed  by  his  side,  I  feel  that  nobody  will  ever  love  me  in 
this  world  as  he  did,  except  perhaps  my  dear  mother,  and  she  has  never  seemed 
so  dependent  on  our  affection;  but  she  will  be,  now  that  he  is  taken. 

December,  1848. — I  feel  thankful  to  have  'been  with  my  beloved  father  during 
this  last  summer;  it  has  given  me  a  treasure  of  sweet  recollections,  which  I  shall 
love  to  cherish  through  life. 

I  have  many  feelings  of  regret  that  I  did  not  improve  more  opportunities  of 
conversation  upon  religious  subjects,  but  I  do  not  know  that  it  would  have  been 
useful;  his  mind  was  constantly  dwelling  upon  the  subject,  and  perhaps  the 
meditations  of  such  a  mind  were  more  profitable;  and  I  know  that  he  often  ex 
pressed  the  strongest  desire  to  be  prepared,  and  a  firm  trust  in  his  Saviour. 

When  he  was  every  evening  sitting  in  his  chair  for  an  hour  at  twilight,  and 
looking  at  that  glorious  sky  as  if  he  would  penetrate  its  mysteries,  what  help 
could  any  words  of  mine  have  given.  I  feel  thankful  that  these  few  years  of 
serene  life,  free  from  care  and  turmoil,  have  been  spared  to  him. 

How  often,  when  I  have  been  reading  to  him  sermons  on  the  Resurrection, 
in  which  were  speculations  upon  the  spiritual  state  and  the  intercourse  of  dis 
embodied  spirits,  he  would  say,  "It  is  what  we  cannot  comprehend  here,  the 
sort  of  intercourse  spirits  without  matter  can  hold;  it  was  what  we  could  have 
no  idea  of  now."  Speculations  upon  things  not  clearly  revealed  in  the  Scriptures 
he  did  not  enter  into.  (439) 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  451 

September,  1849. — Dear  mother  has  tried  to  be  cheerful,  and  has  succeeded, 
though  I  think  she  feels  her  loneliness  here1  in  the  summer,  from  not  having  her 
usual  occupations,  and  the  feeling  that  dear  father  would  have  enjoyed  it  so  much. 

August,  1851. — I  have  enjoyed  the  quiet  of  Boston,  and  the  time  I  have  had 
k 

to  myself  at  this  season.  Mother  and  I  have  had  much  pleasant  intercourse  to 
gether.  She  has  enjoyed  hearing  Wordsworth's  Life  read.  I  have  not  read  any 
thing  in  a  long  time  that  has  given  me  so  much  plesaure;  and  it  has  brought 
back  a  fresh  pleasure  in  his  poetry,  which  I  used  to  enjoy  so  much  long  years  ago. 

January  1,  1853. — The  year  did  not  leave  us  without  its  warning  in  a  most 
solemn  and  affecting  manner.  On  its  last  day  our  dear  Uncle  Lawrence  was 
taken  from  us  most  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  to  us  all.  He  has  been  connected 
with  our  dearest  associations  for  many  years,  and  his  loss  will  make  a  change 
in  our  circle  most  deeply  to  be  felt.  He  has  been  a  warm  and  tenderly  affection 
ate  friend  of  thirty  years;  his  loss  is  great  to  us,  and  to  the  poor  and  suffering, 
to  whom  his  purse  and  heart  were  ever  open. 

July  31,  1853. — Sharon  Springs'1.  I  have  been  here  little  more  than  a  week, 
and  the  time  has  passed  pleasantly,  and  I  hope  not  unprofitably.  I  have  met 
Christian  friends  whom  I  shall  long  remember.  Miss  Donaldson  is  a  rare 
character;  may  her  example  have  an  influence  on  me  for  the  good  of  my  soul; 
such  simplicity  and  devotion  to  the  one  object  of  her  life,  doing  good  to  the 
souls  of  her  fellow  beings. 

April  25,  1858. — My  dear,  precious  mother  departed  this  life  on  the  10th  day 
of  this  month.  No  more  will  her  sweet,  gentle  accents  reach  my  ears,  no  more 
her  sympathizing  heart  be  open  to  share  all  my  cares  and  anxieties, — the  tenderest 
of  human  relations  has  ceased  for  me.  0,  may  the  remembrance  of  her  lovely 

1  They  were  spending  the  summer  at  Danvers. 

a  A  village  of  Schoharie  County,  N.  Y., — 50  miles  west  of  Troy,  population 
(1910),  459.     It  is  a  well  known  summer  and  health   resort  on   account  of  its 
medical  springs. 
—30 


452  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

traits  of  nature  and  grace  help  to  make  me  in  earnest  to  be  like  her,  and  to  make 
it  now  the  business  of  my  life  to  make  others  happy.  May  we  all  be  thankful 
that  this  blessed  mother  has  been  spared  to  us  so  long  for  a  comfort  and  example. 
December  19,  1858. — The  joyful  season  of  Christmas  is  approaching.  What 
sweet  recollections  we  have  of  the  social  enjoyments  of  this  day,  all  our  lives 
long.  But  the  dear  mother,  so  long  spared  to  be  a  blessing,  is  now  removed,  as 
I  trust,  to  a  better  world.  And  now  I  would  pray  that  the  mourning  over  lost 
joys  and  blessings  may  be  swallowed  up  in  rejoicing  for  the  birth  of  my  precious 
Saviour  into  this  world  of  sin. 

The  following  notice  of  Miss  Mason  appeared  in  one  of  the  Boston  papers 
soon  after  her  death: — 

• 

OBITUARY. 

DIED. — In  this  city,  April  29,  Miss  Mary  E.  Mason,  eldest  daughter  of  the 
late  Jeremiah  Mason. 

(440) 

This  announcement  came  with  startling  suddenness  upon  a  large  circle  of 
the  friends  of  the  deceased.  And  scarcely  less  overwhelming  was  the  unexpected 
summons  to  that  inner  circle  of  which  she  was  so  beloved  a  member.  It  may  be 
truly  said,  that  she  herself  was  the  only  one  prepared  to  meet  it.  It  would,  in 
deed,  have  been  strange  had  it  been  otherwise;  for  her  whole  life  seemed  to  those 
around  her  but  a  preparation  for  death.  And  this  not  in  a  gloomy  sense — far 
otherwise.  To  the  most  social  and  amiable  qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  she 
added  those  vigorous  elements  of  decision  and  force  of  character,  good  judgment, 
and  worthy  action,  which  make  "the  perfect  woman  nobly  planned." 

Her  deeds  need  no  eulogy, — they  live  after  her.  The  widow,  the  orphan,  the 
distressed,  knew  her  charitable  hand,  and  revived  and  took  courage  at  her  kindly 
and  inspiriting  words. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  453 

The  parish  of  which  she  was  so  active  a  member,  deeply  feels  the  great  loss 
it  has  sustained  in  one  who  was  ever  ready  to  meet  its  numerous  appeals.  Its 
welfare  was  one  of  the  last  wishes  of  her  heart,  breathed  with  her  farewell 
message  to  its  rector,  her  brother,  absent  in  a  foreign  land,  and  unconscious  of 
his  double  loss. 

As  a  daughter  and  a  sister,  no  language  can  fitly  portray  her  eminent  ex 
cellences;  self-denying,  ever  thoughtful  for  others,  and  never  so  well  pleased 
as  when  laboring  for  those  who  needed  sympathy  and  kindness. 

Her  truly  Christian  conversation  and  her  graceful  simplicity  of  manner, 
shone  "like  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver."  Her  walk  was  with  God,  and 
her  faith  "the  evidence,"  for  her,  "of  things  not  seen." 

In  remembering  the  nobleness  of  her  character,  and  in  more  affectionately 
lingering  over  the  contemplation  of  its  singular  loveliness,  we  are  glad  to  think 
of  her  as  having  crossed  the  dark  river  in  peace,  leaning  with  unfaltering  trust 
upon  the  arm  of  her  Saviour. 

"Calm  on  the  bosom  of  thy  God, 
Fair   spirit!    rest   thee   now! 
E'en  while  with  ours  thy  footsteps,  trod, 
His  seal  was  on  thy  brow." 

ALFRED  MASON. 

Alfred  Mason  was  the  second  son  of  Mr.  Mason.  He  entered  Exeter  Acad 
emy  with  his  brother  James,  two  years  his  junior;  the  one  destined  for  a  college 
education  and  a  profession,  and  the  other  for  the  life  of  a  merchant. 

After  the  usual  preparation  at  that  celebrated  school,  Alfred  entered  Bow- 
doin  College.  There  he  early  developed  a  taste  for  the  Natural  Sciences,  espe 
cially  for  mineralogy  and  geology,  under  that  distinguished  man  Professor  Cleve 
land,  who  seemed  (441)  by  the  power  of  his  genius  to  attract  and  attach  his 
pupils  to  him  in  a  remarkable  way, 


454  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

Alfred  entered  upon 'the  study  of  medicine  immediately  after  graduating  at 
college,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Pierrepont,  in  Portsmouth.  To  diversify  his 
occupation,  and  to  put  in  practice  his  acquirements,  he  early  made  the  Alms- 
house  serve  as  a  sort  of  hospital,  and  there  experimented  upon  such  of  the  in 
mates  as  were  willing  to  have  him  try  his  skill  upon  them,  and  he  was  never  at 
a  loss  for  patients.  He  used  to  say  the  old  women  paupers  loved  medicine,  and 
were  never  satisfied  without  a  dose,  whether  needed  or  not.  He  always  gratified 
them  by  administering,  according  to  the  exigency  of  the  case,  sometimes  a  bread 
pill  or  other  mild  remedy,  when  the  patient  did  not  seem  to  require  more  power 
ful  treatment.  He  had  a  bright  and  genial  way  with  him,  which  encouraged 
and  made  friends  of  these  poor  people,  so  that  his  welcome  visits  cheered  and 
enlivened  them  as  much  by  his  friendly  and  kind  manners  as  by  any  supposed 
charm  in  his  applications. 

After  a  sufficient  preliminary  preparation  in  the  study  of  his  profession,  he 
attended  the  Medical  Lectures  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  had  much  friendly 
intercourse  with  those  eminent  practitioners,  Doctors  Gibson,  Chapman,  and 
Barton.  Subsequently  he  went  to  New  York  for  the  benefit  of  the  Medical 
Course  there.  He  applied  for  the  position  of  Resident  Student  in  Bellevua 
Hospital,  the  largest  institution  of  the  kind  in  the  State,  and  received  the  ap 
pointment.  He  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  station  with  great  ardor  and  zeal. 
A  fever  of  most  violent  and  malignant  character  soon  broke  out,  and  spread 
through  the  wards,  carrying  off  great  numbers  of  the  patients,  with  whom  he 
was  in  constant  attendance,  in  fearless  disregard  of  the  danger  to  his  own  life; 
he  was  attacked,  and  prostrated  by  the  disease.  It  was  soon  apparent  that  he 
was  to  be  a  victim  to  his  own  courageous  devotion  to  what  he  thought  was  his 
duty. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mason,  on  receiving  information  of  his  sickness,  immediately 
left  Portsmouth  to  proceed  to  New  York,  but  were  stopped  in  Boston  by  news  of 
his  death, 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  455 

His  brother  George  reached  New  York  in  time  to  see  him  before  he  expired, 
but  when  too  late  to  be  recognized. 

During  his  sickness  he  received  the  utmost  care  from  Doctor  Delafield,  the 
warm  and  constant  friend  of  his  family;  and  also  from  the  medical  staff  of  the 
hospital,  who  all  felt  a  deep  solicitude,  for  he  had  strongly  attached  himself  to 
them  by  his  manly  qualities,  and  the  intelligence  he  displayed  in  the  arduous 
duties  of  his  position.  But  it  was  beyond  the  power  of  human  effort  to  save  him 
from  the  devastating  scourge;  and  thus  was  cut  off  in  his  early  manhood  a 
career  of  remarkable  promise,  which  would  have  been  an  honor  to  the  profession 
and  to  humanity. 

The  last  melancholy  duties  of  his  burial  were  performed  under  the  direction 
of  Doctor  Delafield  and  the  late  Charles  March,  with  a  tender  and  affectionate 
care,  for  which  his  family  will  never  cease  to  be  grateful.  The  remains  were 
deposited  in  (442)  Mr.  March's  family  tomb,  where  they  laid  until  after  Mr. 
Mason's  removal  to  Boston,  when  he  had  them  brought  to  Mount  Auburn  and 
placed  in  his  lot,  with  others  of  his  family. 

This  first  entrance  of  death  into  the  family  circle  of  Mr.  Mason,  which  had 
until  then  been  so  cheerful  and  sunny,  cast  a  deep  shadow  over  it,  and  left  its 
impression  for  a  very  long  time. 

With  talents  and  prospects  so  brilliant,  it  was  the  disappointment  of  hopes, 
which  had  been  fondly  and  justly  cherished,  and  shared  by  the  numerous  friends 
of  the  family  in  Portsmouth,  where  he  was  a  great  favorite,  making  friends 
always  by  his  cordial  and  genial  bearing,  and  they  manifested  their  sorrow  in 
an  affecting  manner. 

At  the  request  of  the  young  men  of  Portsmouth,  a  eulogy  was  pronounced  by 
Dr.  Cheever,  portions  of  which  are  now  printed,  to  show  their  appreciation  of 
his  worth. 

"Alfred   Mason,   whose   early   loss   we   mourn,   was   born   the  twenty-fourth 


456  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

of  March,  1804,  and  under  circumstances  of  parentage,  rarely  enjoyed,  to  elicit 
and  bring  forward  his  naturally  sagacious  and  inquisitive  mind.  It  is  not,  how 
ever,  my  intention  to  dwell  upon  the  early  scenes  of  his  childhood.  A  thousand 
little  incidents,  with  their  kindred  emotions,  rather  to  be  felt  than  described, 
must  rush  upon  your  minds,  when  I  advert  to  days  on  which  memory  fondly 
lingers,  before  the  charm  and  magic  of  existence  has  been  broken  by  the  trials 
and  vicissitudes  of  maturer  years.  His  early  life  he  spent  amongst  you,  and 
how  cheerfully  and  happily,  will  not  be  forgotten.  You  all  remember  his  docility 
and  gentleness,  the  ingenuousness  and  sweetness  of  his  temper,  the  amiable 
simplicity  of  his  character,  and  the  noble  generosity  of  his  soul. 

"After  passing  the  usual  period  at  Phillips'  Exeter  Academy,  where  he 
gained  the  attachment  and  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him,  he  entered  Bowdoin 
College.  Here  the  same  qualities  of  the  mind  and  heart,  which  endeared  him  to 
his  earliest  friends,  made  him  esteemed  and  beloved  in  every  connection  he  form 
ed.  If,  however,  he  was  not  particularly  distinguished  in  the  routine  of  its  ex 
ercises,  it  was  not  that  he  was  deficient  in  industry,  or  insensible  to  the  impor 
tance  of  intellectual  cultivation;  for  in  a  very  large  class  he  exerted  a  command 
ing  influence  by  his  extensive  information  on  subjects  of  general  and  polite 
literature,  and  by  his  unrivaled  eminence  in  a  particular  department  of  knowl 
edge;  but  because  he  viewed  the  prescribed  studies  of  a  college  life  as  compara 
tively  of  inferior  value  to  one  who  had  marked  out  for  himself  a  course  of  life, 
in  which  they  would  prove,  at  least,  of  doubtful  utility;  and  he  had  strength  and 
elevation  of  character  to  forego  the  trifling  distinctions  they  might  confer,  in  his 
love  for  those  which  were  more  congenial  to  his  taste,  and  for  which  he  ever 
evinced  a  most  remarkable  genius.  It  is  the  remark  of  one  who  knew  him  best,  a 
classmate  and  an  intimate  friend,  'that  he  discovered  in  early  life  a  decided 
partiality  for  natural  science;  and  as  he  increased  in  years,  it  ripened  into  the 
most  devoted  and  exclusive  attachment.  He  flung  his  arms  around  her  inani- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  457 

mate  form,  and,  like  Pygmalion's  statue,  and  nature  grew  into  life,  and  beauty, 
and  (443)  intelligence,  beneath  his  warm  embrace;  and  neither  mathematics, 
nor  poetry,  politics,  nor  pleasure,  could  shake  his  constancy  or  estrange  his  love 
from  those  charms  that  won  his  youthful  heart.' 

"Thus  early  did  he  show  a  prediliction  for  studies  in  which  he  afterwards 
became  a  remarkable  proficient.  Nor  was  he  without  sympathy  in  these  high 
and  noble  pursuits.  It  was  his  good  fortune  at  this  period  to  attract  the  notice 
of  one  whom  our  country  has  delighted  to  honor,  as  having  attained  to  the  very 
foremost  rank  in  natural  science,  and  for  whom,  in  a  particular  branch,  we 
should,  perhaps,  be  unwilling  to  yield  the  palm  of  distinction  to  any  in  the  world.  l 
From  him  our  young  friend  received  the  greatest  assistance.  He  caught  his 
spirit,  and  by  his  aptitude  for  learning,  his  industry  and  enthusiastic  exertion, 
did  honor  to  the  distinguished  attentions  that  had  been  so  liberally  and  so 
generously  bestowed  upon  him.  He  particularly  devoted  himself  to  the  sciences 
of  physiology,  natural  history,  chemistry,  and  mineralogy;  and  in  each,  par 
ticularly  the  latter,  made  very  high  and  honorable  attainments.  To  his  knowl 
edge  of  this  particular  branch  our  Athenaeum  is  indebted  for  many  of  its  valu 
able  specimens,  and  for  its  classification  and  scientific  arrangement.  It  was 
probably  the  connection  of  these  branches  of  science  which  he  so  much  loved, 
with  that  of  medicine,  to  which  they  are  auxiliaries,  which  led  him  to  pursue 
it  as  a  profession. 

"Having  honorably  completed  his  education  at  Brunswick,  he  entered  his 
name  as  a  student  of  medicine  with  a  distinguished  physician  2  of  this  place, 
whose  known  ardor  and  zeal  in  the  pursuit  of  science  was  a  pledge  of  success 
to  a  favorite  pupil.  Being  naturally  endowed  with  a  mind  active,  ardent,  and 
discriminating,  he  possessed  every  requisite  for  success  and  distinction  in  the 
profession  he  had  chosen,  not  only  from  the  acuteness  of  his  discernment,  his 

1  Professor  Cleveland,  of  Bowdoin  College.  2  Dr.  Pierrepont. 


458  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

decision,  and  judgment,  but  from  an  exalted  sense  of  integrity,  and  a  truly 
humane  and  philanthropic  disposition.  To  the  cultivation  of  the  several  branches 
of  his  pursuits  he  devoted  himself  with  the  most  unwavering  zeal  and  untiring 
industry.  Indeed,  all  the  energies  of  his  soul  'seemed  to  be  consecrated  to  the 
advancement  of  his  favorite  object.  It  was  in  him  a  passion,  to  which  every 
thing  of  minor  importance  was  compelled  to  give  way.  He  did  not  thus  engage, 
however,  from  mere  pecuniary  views  of  its  importance,  though  these  were 
probably  estimated  as  they  should  be,  of  real,  though  subordinate  value;  for 
there  was  nothing  selfish  or  mercenary  in  his  nature.  No.  He  loved  his  profes 
sion  as  a  science,  in  its  nature  ennobling  to  a  diligent  cultivator,  and  in  its 
effects  a  blessing  to  mankind.  He  labored  for  principles.  He  believed  with  the 
great  Rush,  that  medicine  without  principles  is  an  humble  art  and  a  degrading 
occupation;  but,  connected  with  them,  the  sure  road  to  honor,  and  the  moral  and 
intellectual  elevation  of  character.  With  such  just  and  ennobling  views  of  the 
art,  he  at  different  periods  visited  the  first  medical  schools  of  our  country,  always 
(444)  acquiring  something  valuable  to  add  to  his  stock  of  knowledge,  and  always 
returning  with  an  ardor  unabated  for  still  further  improvement. 

"It  might  be  supposed,  that  in  a  mind  thus  constituted,  and  devoted  as  it  was 
to  the  discipline  of  severe  study  and  abstruse  investigation,  that  there  would  be 
but  little  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  the  finer  feelings  of  our  nature.  But  in 
this  respect  he  possessed  a  delightful  harmony  of  character.  He  did  not  cultivate 
his  understanding  at  the  expense  of  his  heart;  they  grew  up  and  flourished  to 
gether.  With  a  most  affectionate  disposition  there  was  united  in  him  a  delicacy 
and  tenderness  of  sensibility  to  the  sufferings  of  others,  which  manifested  itself 
in  the  most  unwearied  efforts  for  doing  them  good,  and  a  benevolence  which  was 
limited  only  by  his  powers  of  usefulness.  He  was  truly  the  friend  to  the  sick 
and  the  destitute;  extending  to  them,  as  opportunity  offered,  not  only  the  high 
offices  of  his  profession,  but,  as  we  have  not  unfrequently  witnessed,  the  bountiful 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  459 

hand  of  kindness  and  charity.  Accustomed,  from  his  situation  in  life,  to  mingle 
with  the  most  cultivated  society,  he  carried  into  the  world  a  love  for  its  refined 
and  elevated  enjoyments.  Nature,  indeed,  had  formed  him  for  the  pleasure  of 
friendship  and  of  social  intercourse;  and  how  much  he  enjoyed  them,  no  one, 
who  remembers  his  affability  and  playfulness  of  manner,  and  the  happiness 
which  beamed  from  every  expression  of  his  countenance,  will  ever  forget.  Happy 
himself,  he  made  every  one  happy  about  him  by  the  cheerfulness  and  vivacity 
of  his  disposition,  and  by  a  singularly  frank,  accessible,  captivating,  yet  un- 
presuming  deportment.  He  diffused  a  charm  over  the  various  relations  and 
endearments  of  domestic  life  by  the  ardor  and  strength  of  his  attachments,  by 
the  kindness  and  gentleness  of  his  spirit,  and  by  his  indifference  to  self  in  his 
deep  solicitude  for  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  the  circle  with  which  he  was  con 
nected. 

"The  same  zeal  which  characterized  him  in  the  medical  profession  distinguish 
ed  him  in  everything  he  undertook;  ever  active  and  ardent,  and  ever  extending 
his  influence  to  the  promotion  of  human  improvement.  In  this  respect,  he  will  be 
remembered  for  his  generous  labors,  in  the  instruction  of  a  class  of  young  ladies 
in  the  elements  of  botany,  and  in  one  of  our  Sunday-schools,  as  a  faithful  and 
intelligent  teacher  of  the  principles  of  our  holy  religion;  and,  as  he  carried  into 
life  a  respect  and  reverence  for  its  sacred  institutions,  so,  affections  so  ardent 
and  elevated,  we  trust,  must  have  imbibed  a  portion  of  its  benevolent  spirit,  and 
been  warmed  by  its  heavenly  influences. 

"That  a  mind  and  heart  thus  cultivated,  as  they  had  already  made  him  re 
spected  and  beloved,  would  have  rendered  him  an  ornament  to  the  medical  profes 
sion — the  messenger  of  mercy,  indeed,  to  the  distresses  of  suffering  humanity, — 
cannot  be  doubted.  Why  they  were  not  permitted  to  ripen  into  greater  useful 
ness,  and  extend  more  widely  their  benevolent  influences,  is  concealed  from  us  by 
Him,  who  knoweth  what  is  best  for  us,  and  we  would  reverently  bow  to  this  act 
of  His  inscrutable  providence.  (445) 


460  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

"Early  the  last  autumn  he  left  this  place  for  New  York,  where  he  took  up 
his  residence,  and  passed  the  winter  under  the  instruction  of  an  eminent  prac 
titioner,1  in  the  most  assiduous  attention  to  his  studies,  and  unremitted  exertions 
for  still  further  accomplishments.  Believing  that  a  large  hospital  would  afford 
him  still  greater  facilities  for  improvement,  and  for  witnessing  disease  in  its 
greatest  variety  and  most  malignant  forms,  he  solicited  the  situation  of  assistant- 
surgeon  at  Bellevue  Hospital;  and  it  is  honorable  to  him  to  mention  that  so  high 
ly  were  his  attainments  appreciated,  that  from  very  many  applications  he  was 
selected  to  the  office. 

"During  the  winter  an  epidemic  had  prevailed  in  the  hospital,  which,  al 
though  it  had  apparently  disappeared  at  the  time  of  his  entrance,  shortly  after 
wards  made  its  appearance  again,  spreading  through  its  crowded  wards  with 
greater  severity  and. fatality  than  before  had  been  known.  To  a  young  man 
of  his  warm  arid  generous  character,  with  a  deep  sense  of  responsibility,  and 
a  heart  overflowing  with  sympathy,  it  may  be  easily  imagined  how  trying  and 
laborious  must  have  been  the  situation  in  which  he  was  placed;  and  how  kind, 
how  faithful  and  vigilant  he  was  in  the  practice  of  his  duties  amid  the  appalling 
scenes  of  suffering  and  death,  we  have  the  testimony  of  his  senior  in  office,  and 
many  a  grateful  heart  which  survived  its  ravages  will  ever  hold  his  name  in 
tender  remembrance.  Regardless  of  danger  where  he  had  known  duties  to  per 
form,  and  worn  down  by  care  and  anxiety  in  unremitted  attempts  to  stay  the 
desolation  that  was  spreading  around  him,  he  fell  a  victim  to  a  distemper  which, 
though  treacherous  and  perhaps  flattering  in  its  attack,  soon  developed,  in  the 
destruction  of  his  reason  and  strength,  its  inveterate  and  fatal  malignancy. 

"Thus  died  our  friend,  after  a  few  days'  illness,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
four,  in  the  midst  of  life, — when  the  world  was  bright,  when  he  had  gained  the 
confidence  of  success,  and  was  reaping  the  rewards  of  an  honorable  ambition, 

i  Dr.  Delafield. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  461 

and  the  faithful  cultivation  of  the  powers  and  faculties  which  God  had  given 
him. 

"We  could  have  wished,  if  consistent  with  His  will,  that  a  mind  so  ardent 
and  intelligent,  so  devoted  to  generous  exertion  and  noble  enterprise,  might  have 
been  spared  to  his  friends  and  society;  but  not  our  will,  but  His  be  done.  We 
would  not  recall  him;  we  would  not  have  had  him  purchased  even  life  at  the 
expense  of  his  duties.  No.  He  had  sought  the  situation  which  proved  indeed 
his  grave,  and  we  would  not  have  had  him  shrunk  from  its  dangers.  To  those 
who  loved  him  best,  as  they  fondly  dwell  upon  the  virtues  of  his  character,  how 
happy  will  be  the  reflection  that  his  last  days  were  passed  in  endeavoring  to 
soften  the  pillow  of  distress  in  administering  to  the  wants  of  the  sick  and  the 
dying.  And  0,  how  consoling  the  thought  that  he  died  in  the  cause  of  suffering 
humanity;  that  he  died  at  the  post  of  his  duties!  It  may  be,  too,  that  his  work 
accomplished,  his  duties  done,  in  the  faithful  improvement  of  mind  and  develop 
ment  of  character,  he  is  wanted  in  a  nobler  sphere  of  existence  for  nobler  pur 
poses,  and  for  still  higher  advancement.  It  may  (446)  be  he  has  been  merci 
fully  removed  from  impending  woe,  from  disappointments  and  sorrows,  which 
would  have  damped  his  ardor  and  ruined  his  peace.  It  is  certain  that  the  event, 
however  afflicting  it  may  be,  is  the  allotment  of  infinite  goodness  and  of  unerring 
wisdom." 

JAMES  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

JAMES  JEREMIAH  MASON,  the  third  son  of  Mr.  Mason,  was  born  in  Ports 
mouth,  N.  H.,  June  13,  1806.  His  early  education  was  mainly  in  his  father's 
house,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Stephen  Fales,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College, 
who  came  into  Mr.  Mason's  family  to  superintend  the  education  of  his  two  sons, 
Alfred  and  James,  and  at  the  same  time  pursue  the  study  of  law  in  Mr.  Mason's 
office. 

After  a  preparation  of  a  few  years  of  this  kind,  they  both  went  to  Exeter 


462  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

Academy,  and  on  completing  the  usual  term  at  that  institution,  Alfred  entered 
Bowdoin  College,  and  James,  who  had  chosen  a  mercantile  career,  entered  the 
counting-room  of  Messrs.  James  W.  Paige  &  Co.  of  Boston,  then  extensively  en 
gaged  in  the  importing  business  and  subsequently  so  well  known  as  the  agents 
of  some  of  our  most  important  manufacturing  companies. 

On  his  attaining  his  majority,  James  entered  into  business  in  Boston  on 
his  own  account,  but  was  soon  called  to  New  York  by  advantageous  offers  to  go 
into  the  commission  business  in  that  larger  field  of  enterprise,  and  the  prospects 
held  out  to  him  were  of  so  promising  a  kind,  that  he  decided  to  yield  his  prefer 
ence  for  a  residence  in  Boston  and  remove  to  the  great  emporium  of  business. 

His  father's  family  had  not  then  come  to  Boston  to  reside,  and  he  there 
fore  was  not  held  by  all  the  strong  ties  of  family  affection  which  existed  at  a 
later  period,  but  still  by  his  kind  and  genial  manners,  and  more  by  the  noble 
and  endearing  qualities  of  his  character,  he  had  won  so  many  warm  and  de 
voted  friends,  that  it  became  a  hard  struggle  to  make  up  his  mind  to  part  with 
them,  Fortunately  he  was  not  destined  long  to  be  separated  from  them. 

The  eminent  house  in  which  he  commenced  his  career  as  a  clerk,  then  com 
posed  of  Mr.  James  W.  Paige  and  Mr.  Nathan  Appleton,  had  received  impres 
sions  so  favorable  to  his  capacity  and  his  integrity  of  character  while  in  a  sub 
ordinate  position  in  their  house  and  from  observation  of  his  conduct  in  New 
York,  that  they  soon  sent  for  him  to  return  and  become  a  partner  with  them. 
This  was  a  flattering  appreciation  of  his  ability  and  his  power  of  usefulness; 
for  in  those  days  the  standard  by  which  men  were  judged  was  much  higher  than 
prevails  now,  and  no  doubtful  or  ambiguous  traits  were  overlooked  in  the  esti 
mate.  Close  and  constant  attention  to  business  was  then  expected  and  required. 
The  amount  of  work  performed  by  men  in  mercantile  pursuits,  of  the  class  now 
specially  referred  to,  was  greater  than  in  these  days.  The  difference  in  the 
manner  of  doing  business  and  the  magnitude  of  the  transactions  may  in  a  meas- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  463 

ure  explain  the  necessity  for  some  divergence  from  (447)  the  old  system,  but 
no  amelioration  of  the  rules  of  business  should  dispense  with  habits  of  close  at 
tention  to  the  interests  entrusted  to  agents,  who  should  feel  a  responsibility  as 
trustees  of  the  property  and  interests  of  others,  which  justifies  no  neglect.  We 
have  witnessed  so  much  and  suffered  so  severely  in  these  late  days  by  unfaithful 
and  dishonest  agents,  that  we  may  well  regret  the  disregard  of  the  high  stand 
ard  required  in  business  men  which  prevailed  formerly. 

In  these  new  relations  James  bore  himself  with  conspicuous  credit,  increas 
ing  and  retaining  his  hold  upon  the  respect  of  the  community  without  interrup 
tion  to  the  close  of  his  life.  His  residence  in  New  York,  though  short,  opened 
a  new  field  of  observation  and  for  the  enlargement  of  his  knowledge  of  affairs 
which  he  did  not  fail  to  use  to  the  best  advantage.  Thus  the  experience  and  the 
acquaintance  he  gained  by  this  change,  at  first  so  reluctantly  made,  proved  very 
beneficial  in  his  after  life  and  fitted  him  the  better  for  the  new  relations  which 
he  was  to  undertake. 

He  was  married  January  22,  1835,  to  Elizabeth  Frances  Thorndike,  daughter 
of  the  late  Israel  Thorndike  of  Boston.  He  did  not  survive  his  marriage  many 
months.  With  his  wife  and  a  party  of  ladies  he  proceeded  on  a  journey  to  Vir 
ginia  in  the  spring  of  1835,  where  he  contracted  a  fever,  which  developed  on  his 
return  to  Boston  after  some  weeks,  and  ended  in  his  death  June  13,  1835,  aged 
29  years. 

His  character  was  one  of  great  amiability,  gentleness,  and  purity.  Few 
young  men  have  attained  so  high  a  degree  of  respect  among  his  contemporaries, 
for  his  excellent  attainments,  his  unquestioned  integrity,  and  those  qualities  of 
mind  which  with  a  pleasing  bearing,  commanded  the  love  and  esteem  of  all.  He 
was  uncommonly  devoted  and  affectionate  in  the  family  circle,  and  a  great  favor 
ite  in  the  society  in  which  he  moved.  He  had  no  extravagances  or  vices,  and  in 
these  particulars  he  never  gave  his  parents  or  his  friends  a  moment's  uneasi- 


464  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

ness.  He  had  the  confidence  of  older  men  and  especially  in  his  business  connec 
tions  to  a  remarkable  degree.  His  manners  were  courteous  and  winning,  carry 
ing  confidnce  in  his  face  and  in  his  words;  attractions  the  power  of  which  all 
know  how  to  value;  and  to  these  qualities  so  useful  in  the  daily  life  of  all  who 
desire  to  gain  the  esteem  of  their  fellow-men  he  owed  very  much  the  command 
ing  influence  which  he  attained  among  those  with  whom  his  connection  was  in 
timate  during  his  business  career. 

The  writer  of  this  notice,  though  with  a  partial  eye  probably,  looks  back  now 
after  this  long  period  since  his  death,  and  with  a  not  small  experience  of  men, 
upon  the  life  and  character  of  James  J.  Mason  with  new  and  increasing  ad 
miration. 

CHARLES  MASON. 

The  following  memoir  of  this  amiable  and  excellent  man,  and  faithful  and 
devoted  pastor,  written  by  his  friend  the  Rev.  Andrew  P.  Peabody,  D.  D.,  first 
appeared  (448)  in  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society," 
1863-64.  It  was  reprinted,  with  some  additions,  in  a  volume  of  Mr.  Mason's 
"Parochial  Sermons,"  published  in  1865: — 

"The  Rev.  Charles  Mason  was  born  in  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  July 
25th,  1812.  His  early  education  was  conducted  under  the  choicest  home  in 
fluences,  both  intellectual  and  moral.  He  inherited  from  his  father  a  judicial 
cast  of  mind,  habits  of  careful  and  accurate  thought,  and  the  tendency  to  form 
opinions  on  the  deliberate  weighing  of  argument  and  evidence;  while  his  mother's 
simplicity,  modesty,  and  tenderness  were  happily  blended  in  his  boyhood  with 
the  attributes  that  gave  presage  of  a  genuine  and  self,sustaining  manliness. 

"About  the  time  when  he  would  have  entered  college,  he  was  seized  with 
a  dangerous  illness,1 — the  same  disease  that  terminated  his  life,  after  an  in- 

1  Typhoid  Fever. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  465 

terval  of  thirty-five  years  of  almost  uninterrupted  health ;  and  for  several  months 
he  was  so  feeble  that  the  care  and  comfort  of  his  home  were  deemed  essential 
to  his  entire  restoration.  His  father's  library  became  his  study  and  his  recita 
tion-room;  and  here  his  conscientious  diligence  and  fidelity,  his  maturity  of 
judgment,  his  frankness,  probity,  and  purity  of  character,  gave  full  promise  of 
all  that  he  became  in  subsequent  years.  Seldom  can  there  have  been,  at  so  early 
an  age,  so  symmetrical  a  development.  The  recent  death  of  an  elder  brother, 
of  distinguished  ability  and  excellence,  had  impressed  him  deeply,  and  combined 
with  the  religious  instructions  of  his  childhood  to  form  that  profound,  yet  cheer 
ful  seriousness  which  was  hardly  less  the  characteristic  of  his  boyhood  than  of 
his  riper  years. 

"At  the  commencement  of  the  summer  term  of  1829,  he  entered  the  fresh 
man  class  at  Harvard.  Here  he  assumed  and  maintained  a  high  rank  as  a 
scholar,  though  with  but  little  ambition  for  college  honors.  His  aim  was  to  satis 
fy  his  own  conscience  by  the  faithful  discharge  of  every  duty,  rather  than  to 
acquire  a  brilliant  reputation.  He  brought  to  his  classical  studies  a  discrim 
inating  taste;  and  in  these,  as  also  in  metaphysical  and  moral  science,  he  mani 
fested  a  peculiar  aptitude  and  proficiency.  His  choice  of  the  Hebrew  language 
as  an  elective  study  indicated  his  future  profession;  and  in  this  department  he, 
with  several  of  the  brightest  and  best  among  his  classmates,  came  under  the 
tuition  of  the  writer.  In  this  little  class  were  destined  ministers  of  several  dif 
ferent  denominations, — Unitarian,  Methodist,  Baptist,  Episcopal, — their  teacher 
at  the  same  time  a  theological  student;  and  the  recitation-hour  was  often  pro 
longed  in  friendly  discussion  of  the  great  themes  on  which  their  views  were  so 
widely  diverse,  though  with  entire  community  and  harmony  of  aim  and  spirit. 

"In  these  conferences,  Mason  bore  his  part  with  the  firmness  of  settled  con 
viction,  but  with  a  meekness,  gentleness,  and  modesty  which  commanded  the  re 
spect  of  the  whole  circle  for  himself  and  for  the  church  of  which  he  was  the 


466  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

sole  representative  among  them.  The  college  course,  though  covering  ostensibly 
nearly  the  same  (449)  ground  as  at  present  (including,  indeed,  a  larger  mini 
mum  in  the  mathematical  and  classical  departments),  made  a  much  less  heavy 
draft  upon  the  time  and  labor  of  a  good  scholar  than  it  does  now;  and  Mason 
availed  himself  of  his  leisure  hours  for  the  perusal  of  the  best  authors,  par 
ticularly  of  those  early  English  classics  which  were  his  favorite  reading  through 
life,  and  which  exercised  a  marked  influence  in  the  formation  of  his  style. 

"He  was  graduated  with  honor  in  1832,  and  spent  the  following  year  at  his 
father's  residence  in  Boston,  in  the  study  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics  and 
in  theological  reading.  In  the  autumn  of  1833  he  entered  the  Andover  Theo 
logical  Seminary,  'in  order  to  make  himself  better  acquainted  with  the  views  of 
those  who  differed  from  the  Church,  and  to  be  ably  versed  in  the  Hebrew  language 
and  Biblical  learning,  then  so  well  understood  at  Andover."  The  two  following 
years  were  spent  at  the  General  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  New  York;  and,  at  the  close  of  this  term,  he  was  ordained  deacon  by  the 
venerable  Bishop  Griswold.  In  September,  1836,  he  was  invited  to  become  the 
Rector  of  Christ  Church,  Cambridge,  but  declined  the  invitation,  in  order  to 
secure  an  added  period  for  professional  study. 

"On  the  1st  of  May,  1837,  he  was  instituted  Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church, 
Salem;  and  retained  that  charge  for  ten  years,  interrupted  only  by  a  European 
tour  of  a  few  months,  at  a  time  when  health,  somewhat  enfeebled,  rendered  an 
interval  of  relaxation  necessary.  His  ministry  in  Salem  was  eminently  success 
ful,  both  as  regarded  the  external  growth  and  the  spiritual  prosperity  of  his 
church.  'Few  men,  in  the  course  of  a  ministry  of  ten  years,  have  ever  made  so 
deep  an  impression  upon  the  respect  and  affection  of  any  people,  as  that  which 
was  made  by  Mr.  Mason  upon  young  and  old  in  the  parish  of  St.  Peter's.  Suc 
ceeding  such  men  as  Bishop  Griswold  and  Dr.  Vaughan,  it  was  a  matter  of 
grateful  surprise  to  them  to  find  him  exhibiting,  even  in  youth,  so  much  of  the 
meekness  of  wisdom  that  had  characterized  those  beloved  rectors.'  Assiduous 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  467 

in  his  own  field  of  labor,  prompt,  judicious,  and  persevering  in  all  the  offices  of 
a  Christian  citizen,  active  in  the  administration  of  all  local  charities,  courteous 
and  kind  in  his  intercourse  with  the  ministers  and  members  of  other  communions, 
he  left  not  only  a  cherished  place  in  the  hearts  of  his  parishioners,  but  a  hardly 
less  fond  regard  and  enduring  memory  in  the  whole  community. 

"Domestic  reasons,  and  especially  the  desire  to  minister  to  his  father's  re 
lief  and  comfort  in  the  growing  infirmity  of  his  advanced  age,  were  among  his 
strong  inducements  to  resign  a  charge,  which  was  relinquished  only  with  mutual 
regret  and  under  a  controlling  sense  of  higher  duty.  In  1847  he  became  Rector 
of  Grace  Church,  Boston;  and  the  residue  of  his  life  was  consecrated,  with  single- 
hearted  zeal  and  diligence,  to  the  duties  of  that  office,  and  to  the  various  and 
numerous  departments  of  charity  and  philanthropy  which  demand  the  advocacy 
and  effort  of  a  Christian  minister  worthy  of  the  name.  'The  evidence  of  his 
usefulness  is  not  only  here,  but  (450)  in  all  the  region  round  about.  Like  the 
seed-cup  blown  from  the  tree,  that  takes  root  in  adjoining  gardens,  so  the  con 
stant  outflow  of  migration  hence  has  scattered  the  members  of  this  parish  into 
various  churches  of  the  neighborhood.  For  the  last  fourteen  years,  scores  upon 
scores,  drawn  together  by  his  influence,  have  transplanted,  as  it  were,  into  other 
and  separate  fields,  his  pastoral  culture.  In  this  cure  he  exerted  himself,  even 
to  the  last,  with  a  consecration  of  gifts,  with  an  obliviousness  of  adventitious  ad 
vantages,  with  a  constancy  to  his  post,  with  a  patient  purpose,  and  an  untiring 
love,  that  realized  the  pattern  of  the  true  servant  of  Christ.'  His  professional 
work,  from  the  time  of  his  settlement  here  until  his  last  sickness,  was  suspended 
only  for  a  second  and  more  prolonged  European  tour  in  1858,  in  which  he  was 
accompanied  by  a  part  of  his  family. 

"His  labors  in  Boston  far  exceeded  the  limits  of  his  parochial  charge.  'He 
was  long  a  member  of  the  standing  committee  of  the  diocese,  and  a  prominent 
member  of  all  its  ecclesiastical  and  missionary  councils,  in  all  of  which  his  genial 
presence  is  deeply  missed.  His  social  position,  his  excellent  judgment,  his  sound, 
—31 


468  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

clear,  and  faithful  preaching1,  his  consistent  Christian  character,  and  his  judicious 
and  unfailing  liberality,  made  his  influence  to  be  widely  felt  beyond  the  range 
of  his  own  parish/  'Whatever  labor  his  circumstances  might  have  relieved  him 
from,  they  were  never  suffered  to  relieve  him  from  a  patient  and  sympathizing 
care  of  the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the  ignorant.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to  arrange 
a  sytematic  visitation  of  the  needy  under  the  care  of'  the  rectors  of  Boston,  and 
he  carried  it  out  in  that  part  of  the  city  geographically  allotted  to  Grace  Church 
parish.'  At  an  early  period  of  his  residence  in  this  city  he  associated  himself 
with  the  principal  founders  of  the  association  for  the  amelioration  of  the  con 
dition  of  the  friendless  poor,  which  is  still  among  the  most  actively  beneficent 
institutions  in  our  community.1  When  this  agency  was  efficiently  organized,  he 
turned  his  attention  to  the  neglected  children  of  the  city.  For  some  years  he 
connected  missionary  operations  in  their  behalf  with  the  charities  of  his  own 
parish,  enlisting  the  co-operation  of  benevolent  persons  among  his  parishioners. 
In  1853  he  hired  rooms  for  the  reception  of  these  suffering  children,  and  employed 
a  female  missionary  to  aid  him  in  his  endeavors  to  minister  to  their  physical 
comfort  and  their  moral  and  spiritual  well-being.  In  1855  his  efforts  had  been 
so  successful,  and  had  become  so  extensively  known,  that  the  larger  public  were 
prepared  to  second  him  in  providing  a  permanent  asylum  for  the  objects  of  his 
charity;  and  the  Church  Home  for  Orphan  and  Destitute  Children  was  estab 
lished.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  extended  and  enduring  good  resulting 
to  its  beneficiaries,  and  to  the  whole  community,  from  an  institution  of  this  class, 
in  which  children  who  would  otherwise  grow  up  in  ignorance  and  vice  are  made 
the  objects  of  a  parental  kindness,  placed  under  the  highest  religious  influence, 
and  prepared  for  useful  and  respectable  positions  in  life. 

"These  special  services,  by  introducing  him  to  the  poor    as    their    devoted 

friend,   (451)   rendered  him  emphatically  their  minister.     At  all  seasons,  and  in 

• 

1  The  Boston  Provident  Association. 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  469 

every  way  in  which  he  could  promote  their  good,  he  made  himself  accessible  to 
their  calls,  familiar  with  their  homes,  and  conversant  with  their  needs.  He  for 
got  not  that  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  to  the  poor  was  among  the  foremost 
of  the  prophetic  designations  of  the  Christian  era;  and  no  minister  of  Christ 
can  ever  have  laid  more  solemn  and  intense  emphasis  than  he  did  on  this  es 
sential  portion  of  his  sacred  calling.  Nowhere,  except  in  the  hearts  of  his  own 
household,  can  he  have  left  so  long  and  dear  a  remembrance  as  in  the  obscure, 
needy,  and  suffering  homes  in  which  he  so  lovingly  ministered,  and  in  which  he 
so  often  saved  the  stricken  from  despair,  and  rescued  the  tempted  from  ruin. 

"We  need  not  say  that  such  a  life  was  a  happy  life.  None  enjoyed  more 
than  he,  or  contributed  more  generously  to  the  joy  of  others.  He  had  a  sunny 
temper,  was  accessible  to  all  the  brighter  scenes  and  aspects  of  nature  and  of 
life,  and  had  the  warmest  sympathy  with  childhood  and  mirth,  with  everything 
glad  and  beautiful,  with  all  that  is  genial  in  art  and  taste  and  the  refinements  of 
social  culture.  The  fountain  of  youth,  drawn  from,  it  might  seem,  too  sparingly 
in  his  grave  and  thoughtful  boyhood,  remained  unwasted,  full,  and  clear  to  the 
very  last  week  of  his  life;  he  became  young  again  with  his  children;  and  in  the 
ripe  maturity  of  years,  and  under  the  weight  of  thronging  cares  and  duties,  he 
manifested  even  more  buoyancy  of  spirit  than  before  the  responsibilities  of  life 
rested  heavily  upon  him.  Dignity  and  modesty  were  so  evenly  balanced,  that 
we  could  not  say  which  preponderated.  'Ingenuousness  was  strongly  delineated 
on  his  features  and  manners,  and  he  was  utterly  incapable  of  hypocrisy  or  de 
ceit.'  The  most  delicate  courtesy  governed  him  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  His 
was  the  politeness,  based  on  the  golden  rule  of  the  Gospel,  which  cannot  say  or 
do  that  to  another  which  it  would  not  have  said  or  done  in  return.  He  could 
be  severe  against  falsehood,  wrong,  or  evil;  but  no  provocation  could  betray 
him  into  personal  invective  or  abuse,  or  make  him  otherwise  than  kind,  even 
to  those  from  whom  he  dissented  the  most  widely,  or  whom  he  held  in  the  low- 


470  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

est  esteem.  'Those  who  knew  him  best,  knew  him  as  a  skillful  master  of  the 
art  of  reconciliation.  He  had  both  a  disposition  and  a  genius  for  this  office  of 
mediation.  He  had  the  rare  ability  to  come  quietly  between  separated  parties 
without  exasperating  or  irritating  the  one  or  the  other. 

"  'His  mental  action  was  distinguished  by  precision,  justness,  and  accuracy. 
Neither  emotion,  prejudice,  nor  enthusiasm  suppressed  or  distorted  the  judicial 
faculty.  His  strong,  yet  thoroughly  disciplined  feelings  received  law  from  his 
intellect,  instead  of  sweeping  it  into  their  channel;  and  they  were  both  profound 
and  quiet,  because  they  flowed  from  well-grounded  belief  and  thorough  convic 
tion;  while  unreasoning  emotion  may  roll  in  a  torrent  today,  and  be  dry  tomor 
row.  His  mind  thus  had  a  continuous  growth  and  a  symmetrical  development; 
and,  to  those  who  saw  him  only  at  somewhat  distant  intervals,  he  seemed  more 
and  richer  at  every  interview. 

"  'He  had  more  taste  than  fancy.  With  a  strongly  marked  individuality,  he 
indulged  (452)  in  no  eccentricities  of  speculation  or  utterance.  A  severely  dis 
criminating  judgment,  conformed  to  the  highest  standards,  repressed  all  way 
ward  tendencies  of  thought,  and  made  his  opinions  always  worthy  of  respect  and 
deference.  His  learning  was  at  once  extensive  and  thorough.  A  merited  testi 
mony  to  his  reputation  as  a  divine  was  paid  to  him  by  his  Alma  Mater  in  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  conferred  on  him  in  1858, — a  degree  which  he  re 
ceived  in  the  same  year  from  Trinity  College,  Hartford.  He  was  especially  con 
versant  with  the  writings  of  the  Christian  Fathers,  and  of  the  early  theologians 
of  the  English  Church.  In  literature  he  was  most  familiar  with  the  best  authors, 
particularly  with  the  ancient  classics,  and  with  the  English  writers  of  the 
Elizabethan  age.  He  was  greatly  interested  in  legal  subjects,  and,  particularly 
in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  had  instituted  special  studies  in  that  department, 
with  reference  to  an  important  ecclesiastical  suit  then  and  still  pending.  In 
historical  pursuits,  we  found  him  a  prompt  and  cordial  helper  in  the  delibera- 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  471 

tions  of  this  Society,  from  whose  meetings  he  was  seldom  absent,  and  whose 
aims  had  his  warm  and  constant  sympathy  and  furtherance.  Several  of  his 
discourses  were  published,  by  request,  from  time  to  time,  besides  various  articles 
in  religious  and  other  periodicals,  which  often  appeared  without  the  author's 
name.  His  style  as  a  writer  was  severely  chaste  and  accurate;  seldom  impas 
sioned,  never  dull;  rhythmical,  pointed;  elaborate  without  being  involved;  adapt 
ed,  perhaps,  to  the  eye,  rather  than  to  the  ear.  His  aim  seemed  to  be  the  state 
ment  rather  than  the  enforcement  of  the  truth.  He  appealed  to  the  judgment, 
rather  than  to  feeling  or  imagination.  Indeed,  his  method  of  composition  was 
conformed  rather  to  the  more  exacting  standards  of  an  earlier  generation  than 
to  a  time  like  the  present,  when  sensational  writing,  preaching,  and  oratory  can 
override  with  impunity  all  the  barriers  of  taste,  and  even  of  reverence  and 
decency. 

"  'Though  his  distinguishing  characteristic  might  not  be  what  the  world 
calls  eloquence,  yet  he  was  distinguished  for  something  better, — a  boldness  in 
defending  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  a  love  of  Christ,  as  the  dearest  of  all 
themes,  an  all-absorbing  interest  in  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  men,  thorough 
Scriptural  knowledge,  persuasive  language,  directness  of  appeal,  simplicity  of 
expression,  with  a  humble  and  natural  manner.' 

"Thoroughly  a  Churchman  by  conviction,  taste,  and  sympathy,  he  was  still 
more  profoundly  a  Christian ;  and  while  he  never  swerved  from  loyalty  to  his 
own  church,  his  relations  with  clergymen  and  Christians  of  other  communions 
were  cordial  and  intimate;  and,  to  all  who  knew  him,  he  seemed  a  single  hearted, 
close,  and  earnest  follower  of  his  Saviour,  loving  all  who  loved  the  Lord,  living 
only  to  do  the  Lord's  work,  and,  diligent  as  he  was  in  every  form  of  Christian 
activity,  yet  performing  a  still  larger  and  nobler  service  by  an  example  and  in 
fluence  which  made  piety  beautiful,  lovely,  and  attractive. 

"Mr.  Mason's  domestic  life,  except  for  the  shadow  of  one  great  grief,  was 


472  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

singularly  happy.  On  the  llth  of  June,  1837,  he  married  Susanna,  daughter  of 
the  late  Amos  (453)  Lawrence,  with  whose  family  he  was  already  intimately 
connected.  Mrs.  Mason  closely  resembled  her  father  in  the  traits  of  character 
which  rendered  him  unostentatious,  as  he  was  one  of  the  truly  illustrious  men 
of  his  time.  She  made  her  home  happy,  and  a  centre  of  hospitality  and  benign 
ant  influence.  With  a  rare  grace,  beauty,  and  attractiveness  of  mien  and  man 
ner  she  united  qualities  that  won  the  enduring  respect  and  affection  of  all  whose 
privilege  it  was  to  know  her.  She  died,  deeply  lamented,  on  the  2d  of  Decem 
ber,  1844,  leaving  three  daughters  and  one  son. 

"On  the  9th  of  August,  1849,  Mr.  Mason  was  married  to  Anna  Huntington, 
daughter  of  the  late  Hon.  Jonathan  H.  Lyman,  of  Northampton,  a  distinguished 
lawyer  and  a  man  of  eminent  ability  and  worth,  who  had  been  cut  off  midway 
on  a  successful  and  honored  career  of  professional  and  public  life.  By  this  mar 
riage  he  had  another  son  and  two  daughters.  Thenceforward  few»can  have  had 
so  much  enjoyment  as  he  in  all  domestic  and  social  aspects  and  relations,  'cloud 
ed,  it  is  true,  from  time  to  time,  by  the  loss  of  those  most  dear.'  The  death  of 
another  brother,  and,  in  later  years,  of  his  beloved  and  honored  father  and 
mother,  and  again,  but  three  years  before  his  own  death,  that  of  an  elder  sister, 
whose  personal  devotion  to  him  and  unwavering  sympathy  in  every  professional 
and  social  duty  had  been  to  him  a  source  of  great  strength,  and  were  held  in 
ever  grateful  remembrance  to  the  very  close  of  his  life, — all  these  events  cast 
their  deep  shadows  over  his  pathway.  But  no  one  ever  lived  with  a  happier 
assurance  of  the  'communion  of  saints,'  or  a  more  constant  remembrance  of 
heaven  as  our  hovne.  In  his  own  words,  'the  journey  thither  is  by  a  pleasant 
wayside,  but  the  happiest  journey  of  all  will  be  when  that  of  life  is  over.' 

"Cultivating  ever  this  cheerful  faith,  he  worked  on  under  all  such  bereave 
ment  and  sorrow,  'praying  so  to  be  assisted  with  God's  grace  as  to  continue  in 
holy  fellowship  with  all  the  members  incorporate  in  the  mystical  body  of  the 
Son,  and  to  do  all  such  good  works  as  are  prepared  for  us  to  walk  in,'  believing 


MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON.  473 

that  'we,  with  all  those  departed  in  the  true  faith  of  His  holy  name,  shall  have 
our  perfect  consummation  and  bliss,  both  in  body  and  soul,  in  His  eternal  and 
everlasting  glory,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord/ 

"Late  in  the  winter  of  1862,  Dr.  Mason  made  a  brief  and  rapid  journey  to 
Washington;  and  returned,  as  he  supposed,  suffering  under  unusual  and  ex 
treme  weariness.  He,  however,  seemed  to  recover  from  his  fatigue,  and,  after 
a  few  days,  resumed  his  duties,  apparently  in  perfect  health.  But  within  a  few 
weeks,  symptoms  of  alarming  disease  were  developed,  and  typhoid  fever  set  in. 
While  his  consciousness  remained  unimpaired,  he  manifested,  under  great  de 
pression  and  pain,  the  serenity,  self-forgetfulness,  and  kind  consideration  for 
those  around  him,  which  had  characterized  him  through  life.  He  knew  that  he 
was  very  ill;  but,  before  he  had  been  made  aware  of  the  extremity  of  his  dan 
ger, — indeed,  while  his  physicians  and  friends  still  cherished  some  hope  of  his 
restoration, — he  sank  into  painless  dissolution  (454)  on  the  morning  of  Sunday, 
March  23d,  1862.  Funeral  services  were  held  at  Grace  Church  on  the  following 
Wednesday,  and  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  delivered  an  address  commemorative 
of  Dr.  Mason's  character  and  life,  which  was  followed,  at  a  meeting  of  the  clergy 
immediately  after  the  services,  by  another  from  his  early  friend  and  earliest 
pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Burroughs,  of  Portsmouth." 

SURVIVING  CHILDREN. 

The  surviving  children  of  Jeremiah  Mason  are  three  in  number, — Miss  Jane 
Mason,  Robert  Means  Mason,  and  Mrs.  Marianne  Ellison,  wife  of  Commodore 
Francis  B.  Ellison,  U.  S.  N.  They  all  reside  in  Boston. 

ROBERT  MEANS  MASON  was  married  December  4th,  1843,  to  Sarah  Ellen 
Francis,  who  died  September  27th,  1865.  They  had  six  children,  of  whom  three 
are  living, — Bessie,  wife  of  Robert  Charles  Winthrop,  Jr.;  Ellen  Francis  Mason, 
and  Ida  Means  Mason. 


474  MEMOIR  OF  JEREMIAH  MASON. 

Alfred,  born  15th  March,  1850;  died  12th  February,  1852. 

Anna  Francis,  born  18th  January,  1852;  died  2d  November,  1860. 

Clara  Thorndike,  born  26th  February,  1854;  died  23d  September,  1868. 

MARIANNE  MASON,  now  Mrs.  Ellison,  was  married  June  5,  1838,  to  Royal 
A.  Crafts,  who  died  May  25,  1864.  They  had  two  children, — James  Mason  Crafts,3 
Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  and  Mary 
Elizabeth  Crafts. 

The  children  of  Charles  Mason  are  all  living, — Susan,  wife  of  Dr.  F.  E. 
Oliver;  Amos  Lawrence;  Sarah,b  wife  of  Dr.  Hasket  Derby;  Mary,  wife  of 
Howard  Stockton;  Anna  Sophia  Lyman,  Charles  Jeremiah0  and  Harriet  Sargent 
Mason.  (455) 

a  Prof.  James  Mason  Crafts  is  a  grandson  of  Jeremiah  Mason,  and  died 
in  June,  1917,  in  Boston.  He  materially  assisted  in  the  preparation  of  this  repro 
duction  of  this  Memoir. 

b  Sarah,  Mrs.  Dr.  Hasket  Derby,  is  now  living  in  Boston  and  has  co-operat 
ed  in  the  publication  of  this  edition  of  Mr.  Mason's  Memoir. 

c  The  Rev.  Charles  Jeremiah  Mason,  of  Scarsdale,  Westchester  County, 
N.  Y.,  is  the  only  grandson  of  Jeremiah  Mason  living,  and  he,  also,  has  con 
tributed  with  the  editor  of  this  revision,  and  assisted  in  many  ways. 


I  N  DEX 


INDEX 


Adams,  Henry,  212. 
Adams,  John,  30. 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  143,  144,  181, 
193,  199,  202,  204,  206,  257,  269, 
271,  275,  276,  280,  Sketch  of,  284. 

Adams,  Mrs.  John   Quincy,   186,   193. 

Addison,  Rev.  Mr.,  96. 

Admiralty  Jurisdiction,  178,  179-80. 

Admission  at  Yale,  7. 

Admission  to  Bar,  21. 

Admission  to  N.  H.  Bar,  23. 

Advice  from  Friends,  310. 

Albany,  N.  Y.,  13. 

Alexandria,  Va.,  114,   138. 

Allen,  Dr.,  114. 

Ambrister,  304,  306. 

Amelia  Island,  171,  175. 

Ames,   Fisher,  35,   114,  327,   395. 

Anecodote  of  Sunday  Travel,  417. 

Anti-Masonic  Party,  348. 

Appleton,  Rev.  Jesse,  D.  D.,  46,  61, 
131,  151,  218,  223.  See  Letters. 

Appleton,  Mrs.  Jesse,  223. 

Appleton,  Mary,  96. 

Appleton,  Nathan,  462. 

Arbuthnot  &  Ambrister,  204,  206. 

Argument  in  Dartmouth  College  Case, 
166-7. 

Argument  in  E.  K.  Avery  Defense, 
359-61. 

Argonaut,  The  Case  of,  304-6. 

Armstrong,  John,  61. 

Arnold,  Benedict,  3. 

Ashburton,  Lord,  (Alexander  Bar 
ing),  356-7. 

Ashmun,  Eli  Porter,  184. 

Atherton,  Chas.  H.,  130,  321,  401. 

Atkinson,  Wm.  K.,  401. 

Authors,  — vain,  176. 

Avery,  Ephraim  K.,  359-61. 


Dagot,  Mr.  &  Mrs.  Chas.,  136,  216. 

Bainbridge,  Commodore,  168. 
Baldwin,  Mr.  Justice  Henry,  319. 
Baldwin,   Simeon,   15,   17,    Sketch    of, 

394. 

Baltimore  City,  99. 
Bank  Bill,  110,  111,  112,  133,  135,  136. 
Banks  &  the  Currency,  119. 
Bank  of  U.  S.,  121,  201,  206,  208,  209, 

222,  313,  436. 
Bankrupt  Bill,  175,  182,  186,  190,  208, 

295. 
Barbour,   James,    120,    139,    194,    270, 

341,  397. 
Barry,  Mr.,  311. 

Baring,     Alexander      (Lord     Ashbur 
ton),  356. 

Barrington   (Great),  13. 
Barstow,  George,  51. 
Bartlett,  Ichabod,  Sketch  of,  165,  217, 

277,  408,  427. 
Battle  of  Lexington,  4. 
Battle  of  New  Orleans,  112,  115. 
Bass,— fish,  19. 
Bates,  Isaac  C.,  346. 
Bayard,  James   (2nd),  80. 
Baylies,  William,  237. 
Beccaria,  Marquis,  12. 
Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  13. 
Bell,  Governor,  211,  296,  298,  301,  321, 

331,  401. 

Bellevue  Hospital,  314. 
Bench, — Independent,  179. 
Benton,  Thos.  H.,  71,  72,  185,  308. 
Bentham,  Jeremy,  199,  200. 
Berkshire  Hills,  13. 
Bibb,  Geo.  M.,  185. 
Bibbs,  Wm.  W.,  121. 
Biddle,  Mr.,  317-18. 
Bigelow,  Timothy,  401. 
Binney,  Horace,  317. 
Biography,  of  Living, — difficult,  306. 


478 


INDEX. 


Blake,  Francis,  87. 

Blake,  George,  66,  85,  87. 

Blake,  Mrs.  George,  66. 

Blake,  John  W.,  31,  305,  395. 

Bladensburg,  138. 

Blaine,  Jas.  G.,  281. 

Bledsoe,  Jesse,  185. 

Bliss,  George,  237. 

Bonaparte,  Madame,  68,  73,  76',  98. 

Boston,  Seige  of,  3. 

Boston,  British  retreat  from,  5. 

Boston,  population  (in  1786),  14,  162. 

Boston,  Provident   Ass'n.,   468. 

Boston,  Town  Meeting,  33. 

Bowdoin   College,  46. 

Bradley,  Stephen  Rowe,  17,  19,  21,  395. 

Branch  Bank  of  Portsmouth,  313,  436. 

Brattleborough,  31. 

Brick  School  House,  6,  37. 

British  West  Indies,  261. 

Brookline,  168. 

Brooks,  Governor,  181,  204,  205,  240. 

Brown,  Gen'l.,  91. 

Cabinet  Appointments,  143,  145,  29-1. 

^  Calhoun,  John  C.,  58,  121,  189, 
Sketch  of,  258,  State's  Rights,  259, 
269,  271,  275,  295,  352. 

Calvert,  Mr.,  138. 

Cambridge  College,  24. 

Campbell,  Hon.  G.  W.,  57,  83,  120, 
178. 

Candidate  for  Senate,  287. 

Capture  of  Washington  City,  91-2. 

Carpenter,  Matt  H.,  370. 

Carr,   Dabney,   40. 

Case  of  the  Argonaut,  304,  306,  309. 

Case  of  De  Lovio  v.  Boit  et  al,  179. 

Case  of  La  Jeune  Eugenie,  253,  256. 

Castlereagh,  Lord,  19. 

Catechism,  6. 

Cathcart,  Lord,  188. 

Cato,  379. 

Champney,  Judge,  23. 

Chancery  Jurisdiction  of  N.  H.  Sup 
reme  Court,  247-8. 


Channing,  Tutor,  8,  9. 

Channing,  Wm.    E.,   352. 

Chapin,  Rev.  Dr.,  12. 

Charges  against  W.  H.  Crawford,  283. 

Charles  River  Bridge  Case,  325,  327. 

Charlestown,    27. 

Chase,  Dudley,  121. 

Chatham,    Lord     (Elder    Wm.    Pitt), 

115. 

Chauncey,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  66. 
Cheever,  Dr.,  455. 
Cheshire,  22. 
Cheves,   Landon,   58. 
Chipman,  Nathaniel,  22. 
Choate,  Joseph  H.,  13. 
Choate,  Rufus,  66,  115,  212,  257,  258, 
336,     357,     Sketch     of,     370;     on 
Mason,  387. 

Choice  of  a  Profession,  12,  13. 
Church   Home  for   Orphans  &   Desti 
tute  Children,  446,  468. 
Circuit  Courts  of  U.  S.,  178,  293-4. 
Clarke,  John  J.,  374. 

Clay,  Henry,  58,  75,  121,  139,  143, 
165,  169,  172,  183,  193,  235,  257, 
270,  276,  Sketch  of,  281-2,  291,  348, 
353. 

Cleveland,  Prof.,  453,  457. 

Clinton,  DeWitt,  174,  234,  268,  269, 
291,  331. 

Coffin,  Dr.,  49,  441. 

Cohen   v.    Virginia,    326. 

Coleman,  William,  31,  143,  395. 

College  Rebellion,  11. 

Columbia  River,  215. 

Committee  Labors,  63,  242,  248. 

Common  Pleas,  21,  23,  24,  39. 

Compensation  of  Members  of  Con 
gress,  123,  132-3. 

Composition,  Benefits  of,  196. 

Compromise, — Move  Slow  in,  175. 

Comstock,  Oliver  C.,  105. 

Conduct  of  Causes,  377-8. 

Conscription,  Speech  on,  100. 

Conversational  Powers,  338. 

Copperthwaite,  Mr.,  313. 


INDEX. 


479 


Cornell,  Sarah  M.,  359-61. 

Correspondence  in  Declining  Life,  341. 

Courts  of  U.  S.,  273. 

Cox,  Jacob  D.,  375. 

Crabbe,  Mr.,  297. 

Crafts,  James  Mason,  41,  474. 

Crafts,  Royal  A.,  474. 

Crawford,  W.  H.,  128,  134,  143,  Sketch 

of,    145,    157,    172,    173,    251,    269, 

275,  278,  283,  291. 
Crittenden,  John  J.,  194. 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  1. 
Crownshield,  Benj.  W.,  187. 
Curtis,  Benj.  R.,  336. 
Curtis,  Geo.  T.,  99,  336,  372,  387. 
Gushing,  Caleb,  64. 
Cushman,  Samuel,  348,  353. 
Cutts,  Hon.  Chas.,  51,  53,  97. 
Cutts,    Chas.    (Secretary   of   Senate), 

97. 

Cutts,  Edward,  97. 
Cutter,  Chas.  W.,  409. 

Haggett,      David,     120,     167,     174-6, 

"    Sketch  of,  184,  397. 

Dallas,  117. 

Dallas,  Lord  Chief  Justice,  272. 

Dartmouth  College  v.  Woodward,  112, 
162,  214,  216,  217. 

Dartmouth  College,  255. 

Dates — unessential  to  remember,  176. 

Daveis,  C.  S.,  309. 

Dean,   Oliver  H.,  Introduction, 

Dearborn,  General,  80. 

Death,  D.  Webster,  on  Ezekiel  Web 
ster's,  282-3. 

Death,  J.  Mason,  on  Mrs.  D.  Web 
ster's,  304-5. 

Death,  J.  Mason,  on  Louisa  Story's, 
323-4. 

Death,  Geo.  Ticknor,  on  J.  Mason's, 
420. 

Death,  Chas.  Sumner,  on  J.  Mason's, 
421. 

Death,  W.  Plumer,  Jr.,  on  J.  Mason's, 
422. 


Death,  Edward  Everett,  on  J.  Mason's, 

423. 

Death,  J.  Mason,  on  Dr.  Jesse  Apple- 
ton's,  223. 

Death  of  Robt.  Means  Lawrence,  359. 
Death  of  Alfred  Mason,  313. 
Death  of  George  Mason,  441. 
Death  of  Jas.  Jeremiah  Mason,  349. 
Death  of  D.  Webster's  Children,  362. 
Death  of  Judge      Story's      Daughter, 

323. 

Decatur,  Mr.,  348,  353. 
Dedication  by  Judge  Story,  418. 
Delafield,  Dr.,  445,  460. 
De  Lovio  v.  Boit,  et  al,  179. 
Democratic  Nomination  of  President, 

133,    134.  » 

Democratic  party,  91,  120-1,  134,  238, 

316. 

Dennie,  Joseph,  29,  395. 
Derby,  Dr.  Hasket,  474. 
Detroit  City,  268. 
Devil,— Malice  of,  176. 
Dexter,    Samuel,    40,    114,    Sketch   of, 

129,  213,  327,  336,  401. 
Diary  of  Mary  Mason,  359,  363-4,  447- 

52. 

Dinsmoor,  Samuel,  288. 
Discomforts  of  Travel,  53,  55,  67. 
Dissatisfaction,  35. 
Dissolution  of  Union,  87. 
Dorchester  Heights,  3. 
Duer,  Judge,  267. 
Dunning,     John     (Lord     Ashburton), 

115. 
Duvall,  Judge  Gabriel,  216. 

Eagle  Tavern,  Albany,  13. 

Early  Education,  5. 
Eastman,   Nemiah,   288. 
Education  of  Children,  77-8,  131-2. 
Edwards,  Jonathan,  13,  16. 
Edwards,  Ninian,  283. 
Edwards,  Pierpont,  12,  16. 
Election  to  Legislature,  238. 
Election  to  U.  S.  Senate,  52. 


480 


INDEX. 


Elba,  98. 

Eldon,   Lord    (John    Scott),   267,   272, 

400. 

Ellis,  Rev.  G.  E.,  37. 
Ellison,   Commodore   Francis   B.,   473. 
Ely,  Dr.,  7. 

Ely,  Rev.  Ezra  Stiles,  38. 
Ely,  Rev.  Zebulon,  37. 
Embargo  Act,  69,  72,  77. 
Emerson,  R.  W.,  375. 
Eminence  as  a  Lawyer,  367-8. 
Emmett,  Thos.  A.,  213. 
England,    349-50. 
English  People,   271. 
English  Sentiment,    79. 
Enters  Simeon  Baldwin's  Office,  15. 
Eppes,  John  W.,  88,  121,  194,  257. 
Errors  of  Massachusetts,  240,  241. 
Erskine,  Thomas,  115,  370. 
Euclid,  Study  of,  127. 
Eulogy  of  Alfred  Mason,  455-61. 
Eustis,    Dr.,    264. 
Everett,  Edward,  Sketch  of,  346,  423. 

Tales,  Stephen,  53,  59,  82,  111,  461. 

Family  and  Descendants,  437-8. 
Family  in  1817,  161. 
Family  Influence,  151. 
Fanueil  Hall,  33. 
Farm,  Mason  on  "till  fourteen  years 

of  age,"  5. 

Farm  at  Westmoreland,  22,  23,  26. 
"Farmer's  Museum,"  30. 
"Fas  est  ab  hoste  doceri,"  391. 
Father,  2,  3,  9,  392. 
Federal  Party,  50,  51,  53,  61,  121,  143, 

151,   174,   191,   205,   264,   276,  301, 

379-80. 

Female  Education,  94. 
"Fiat  justitia  mat  coelum,"  194. 
"Field  Marshal  of  Federal  Editors," 

(Hamilton),  31. 

First  Cause  Argued  and  Won,  19. 
First  Speech  in  Senate,  59. 
Fish,— half  fish  and  half  woman,  236. 


Fiske,  John,  331-2. 
Fitch,  Elizabeth,  393. 
Fitch,  James,  2,  13,  359,  392. 
Fitch,  Mrs.,  6,  7. 
Fitch,  Tutor  (President),  11. 
Fletcher,  Richard,  336,  387,  408. 
Florida,  210,  212,  214,  234. 
Foreign  Politics,  189,  191-2. 
Foote,   Samuel,  319. 
Fourteenth  Congress,  120,  138. 
Forsythe,  John,  58,  121,  191. 
Fox,  Chas.  James,  115,  391. 
Frances  Case,  212. 
Francis,   Sarah   Allen,   473. 
Franklin,   Benjamin,   62. 
Freeman,  Peyton  Randolph,  434. 
Freemasons,  24. 
French  Language,  94. 
Freshman   at  Yale,  8-9. 
Friendship  with  Mr.  Webster,  41-2. 
Friendships  of  Early  Life,  129. 

Tallatin,   Albert,   62,   71,   81,   82,   210, 


\1 


297. 


Gallison  Report,  178. 

Gambling,  27. 

Garfield,  Jas.  A.,  236. 

Garrison,   William    Lloyd,   64. 

Gaston,   William,   121. 

Geometry,    127. 

George  III,  163. 

Gerry,    Elbridge,    50,    Sketch    of,    59, 

104,  265. 

Ghent,  93,  102,  356. 
Gibbon,  Edward,  29,  355. 
Gibbons  v.  Ogden,  112,  276,  326. 
Gibson,  John  B.,  319. 
Giles,  Mr.,  35. 
Giles,  William  B.,  18,  57,  69,  83,  100, 

110,    226. 

Gilman,  Governor,  33. 
Gilman,  Hon.  Nicholas,  50,  53. 
Girard,  Stephen    (Will  Case),  113. 
Gloom, — face  of,  176. 
Goddard,  Dr.  John,  52,  126. 


INDEX. 


481 


Goldsborough,  Robt.  H.,  186,  217,  397. 
Goodrich,  Chas.  B.,  434. 
Goodrich,  S.   G.,  212. 
Gore,  Christopher,  57,  73,  76,  85,  100, 
117,   120,   140,   151,   167,   206,   341, 
388,  397.     See  Letters. 
Gore,  Mrs.  Christopher,  213. 
Goshen,  Land  in,  2,  392. 
Government,   102. 
Grandfather,  maternal,  2. 
Grandfather,  paternal,  1. 
Grant,  U.  S.,  375. 
Grant,  Sir   William,    400. 
Gray,  Governor,  168. 
Gray,  John  Chipman,  40. 
"Great  American  Lawyers,"  326-7. 
Great  Barrington,  13. 
Greek,  Study  of,  7,  8. 
Greeks,   The,  275. 
Greeley,  Horace,  236. 
"Green   Bag,"  277. 
Greenfield,  27. 
Green,  Duff,   320. 
Griffin,  Rev.  Dr.,  49. 

Habit    of    Asking    Questions,    338-9, 

11   361,  430. 

Habits  of   Life,   161. 

Hackett,  W.  H.  Y.,  288. 

Hale,  Mr.,  345. 

Halifax,    332. 

Hall,  Judge  Lot,  19. 

Hall,  Joseph,    33. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  14,  31,  76,  114. 

Hanover,  164. 

Hardwicke,  Lord   (Philip  Yorke)   267, 

400. 

Harper,  Mr.,  120,  141. 
Harrison,   General,   65,   70,   88-9,   121, 

157,  351. 
Hartford    Convention,    103,    155,    182, 

231,    233,    264,   321. 
Harvey,  Judge,  322. 
Haven,  Nat  A.,  Jr.,  279,  280,  281. 
Hawthorne,    Nathaniel,    13. 
Hayne,  Robt.  Y.,  129. 


Hazing,   8. 

Henson,  Alexander  C.,  141. 

Hermitage,   203. 

Hildreth's  History  U.  S.,  99. 

Hill,  Isaac,  298,  310,  331,  344,  353. 

Hillard,  Geo.  S.,  338.     See  Preface. 

"Historical  &  Literary  Essays,"  331-2. 

Hoar,  E.   Rockwell,   Sketch  of,  375. 

Hoar,  Geo.    F.,    370. 

Hobart,  Bishop,  65. 

Holland,  49. 

Holmes,  John,  174,  192,  Sketch  of,  193. 

Holmes,  Oliver  W.,  Dr.,  375. 

Hopkinson,  Joseph,  121,  216. 

Horr,  R.  G.,  236. 

House  at  Portsmouth,  161. 

"House  of  Seven  Gables,"  13. 

Hubbard,  Mr.,  331,  336,  344. 

Humility,  430-1. 

Hunt,  Samuel,  395. 

Hunter,  Mr.,  397. 

Ideas,  176,  196. 

Importance  of  Good   Handwriting, 

125. 
Importance  of  Religion     to     Women, 

108. 
Impressions    of    Washington,    D.    C., 

60. 

"Inchiquin,"  (Chas.  J.  Ingersoll),  185. 
Inclination  to  the  Law,  12. 
Independence  in  Journalism,    236. 
Independence  in  Politics,  236. 
Independence,  Mo.,  215. 
Indians,  227. 
Ingalls,  John  J.,  62. 
Ingersoll,  Chas.  J.,  58,  185. 
Insurance  Co.  v.  Dunham,  179. 
Internal  Revenue,  175. 
Isle  of  Shoals,  90. 

Jacobs,  Mr.,  395. 

Jackson,   Andrew,   199,    Sketch   of, 

202,  205,  208,  275,  331. 
Jackson's    Court    Martial,    202,    204, 

206,   208,  217. 


« 


482 


INDEX. 


Jackson's  Debate,  208. 
Jackson,  Judge,  213,  265,  271. 
Jay's  Treaty,  33,  35,  231. 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  50,  51,  60,  68,  167, 

242,  281,  417. 

"Jingle  of  Two  Pennies,"  176. 
Johnson,  Judge  William,  216. 
Johnson,  Samuel,  337.  „ 
Jones,  Judge,  114. 
Journey  to  Rhineland,  448. 
Journey  to  Washington,  53-4. 
Judicial    Power    of    U.    S.,    176,    183, 

248-9,  262,  273. 

Judiciary  Establishment,  179-80. 
Judiciary  of  N.  H.,  242. 
Justices'  Courts,  19,  20. 

Ifansas,  State  of,  62. 

**   Kennedy,  John  P.,  40. 

Kennedy,  John  P.,  40. 

Kent,  Amos,  401. 

Kent,  James,   14,   165,   255,   266,   336, 

416. 

Kentucky  Horse  Act,  140. 
King    Lear,    337. 
King,  Rufus,   57,    58,    73,    76,   83,   85, 

98,  104,  106,  118,  120,  121,  130,  140, 

151,   167,   186,   229,   293,   341,  388, 

397.     See  Letters. 
King,  Mrs.  Rufus,  218. 
Kirby,  Ephriam,  35. 
Knapp  Murder  Case,  114. 
Kyle,  James  H.,  258. 

I  add,  Mr.  A,  111. 

La  Jeune  Eugenie  Case,  253. 
Lansing,  Chancellor,  14. 
Last  Illness,  363-4. 
Latin,  7,  10. 
Law,  Devoted  to,  150. 
Law,  What  it  is   (Burr),  176. 
Law,  Reports,  254. 
Law    School  of  Judge  Reeve,  13. 
Law    Trials  in  New  Haven,  12. 
Law    Club,   361. 


Lawyers  in  Conn.,  16. 

Lawyers  in  Vt.,  17. 

Lawyers,  Mason's   Contemporaries, 

336. 
Lawrence,  Abbott,  Sketch  of,  330,  334, 

355. 
Lawrence,  Amos,  Sketch  of,  334,  343, 

359. 

Lawrence,  W.  R.,  424-6. 
"Lay  Preacher,  The,"     (Joseph    Den- 

nie),  30. 

Lear,  Colonel  and  Mrs.,  107. 
Lebanon,  37,  38,  392. 
Lebanon,  First  Parish,  7. 
Lee,  Gov.   Henry,  32,  37,  395. 
Legare,  Hugh  S.,  Sketch  of,  355. 
Legislature  and  the  Courts,  25-6. 
Letters  from — 

Rev.  Jesse  Appleton,  D.  D.,  218-26. 
David  Daggett,  174-6. 
Edward  Everett,  423-4. 
Chas.  B.  Goodrich,  434-7. 
Christopher    Gore,    117,    153,    168, 

191,  204,  226,  228,  240,  277. 
Rufus    King,    118,    155,    169,    173, 
197,    200,    208,    214,    233,    235, 
241,  263,  283,  294. 
Wm.  R.  Lawrence,  424. 
Chas.  G.  Loring,  361. 
Rev.  J.  H.  Morison,  427. 
Prof.  A.  S.  Packard,  421. 
William  Plumer,  Jr.,  422. 
Rev.  J.  S.  Stone,  432. 
Joseph   Story,   178,   256,   299,   307, 

322,  323,  324,  325,  326,  353. 
Charles  Sumner,  421. 
George  Ticknor,  355,  420. 
Daniel  Webster,  207,  211,  216,  217, 
221,    237,    239,    251,    259,    268, 
270,    275,    281,    284,    291,    292, 
294,    296,    298,    310,    313,    318, 
321,    330,    344,    345,    348,    353, 
356,    357,    362. 
Letters  to — 

Rev.  Jesse  Appleton,  D.  D.,  46,  61, 
69,  78,  86,  101,  158,  168,  220. 


INDEX. 


483 


Mrs.  Jesse  Appleton,  223. 

Christopher  Gore,  142,  144,  152, 
172,  183,  190,  204,  227,  229, 
231,  264. 

Rufus  King,  140,  152,  154,  170, 
181,  194,  199,  201,  206,  218, 
225,  232,  238,  261,  280,  293. 

James  J.  Mason,  146. 

Members  of  Mr.  Mason's  Family 
after  his  death,  420. 

Miss  Mary  E.  Mason,  94,  95,  108, 
114,  125,  127,  141,  145,  196. 

Mrs.  Jeremiah  Mason,  53,  55,  56, 
58,  59,  64,  65,  67,  68,  72,  73, 
74,  75,  77,  81,  83,  84,  85,  86, 
89,  92,  93,  94,  95,  96,  97,  98, 
99,  100,  104,  105,  107,  108,  109, 
110,  111,  113,  115,  116,  124, 
125,  126,  127,  128,  129,  130, 
131,  132,  133,  134,  135,  136, 
137,  138,  420,  421,  422,  423. 

R.  M.  Mason,  424,  427,  432,  434. 

William  Plumer,  147. 

Joseph  Story,  177,  179,  222,  224, 
252,  253,  266,  267,  278,  300, 
306,  309,  323,  326. 

George  Ticknor,  349,  354. 

Daniel  Webster,  272,  279,  301, 
302,  304,  311,  319,  321,  328, 
341,  345,  356. 

Lewis,  William  Draper,  326-7. 
Lexington,  4. 
Litchfield,  13. 

"Little    Magician,"    (M.    VanBuren), 

331. 

Livermore,  Arthur,  278,  401. 
Livermore,  Judge  Edward  St.  Joe,  36, 

278,  400. 

Livingston,  Brockholst,   216. 
Livingston,  Edward,  311. 
Livingston,  Robert  L.,  73,  331. 
Livy,  379. 

Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,  258. 
Lord,  Dr.  John,  112. 
Lord,  John  P.,  43-5. 
Loring,  Charles  G.,  336,  361-2,  370. 
—32 


Lowell,  James  R.,  375. 
Lowndes,  Wm.,  58,  121,  157,  217. 

McCulloch  v.  Maryland,  326. 

A"  McLean,  John,  58,  121,  291,  347. 

McMaster,  John  B.,  13,  212. 

Macon,    Nathaniel,    120,    309,    Sketch 

of,  434. 

Madison,  Dolly,  68,  73,  92,  96,  133. 
Madison,   James,   11,   50,   57,   68,    69, 

80,  96,  103,  167,  168. 
Mansfield,  Lord  (William  Murray)  ,115 
March,  Charles,  455. 
Marriage,  40. 
Marsh,  Charles,  17,  130. 
Marsh,  Judge,  17. 
Marsh,  Miss,  83. 
Marshall,   John,   30,    112,    114,    166-7, 

299,  306. 
Mason,  Alfred,    125,    127,     146,     313, 

441,  453-61. 

Character,  460-1. 

Education,  453-5. 

Eulogy,  by  Dr.  Cheever,  455-61. 

Medical  Studies,  454. 

Partiality    for     Natural     Science, 
453,  456. 

Sickness    and    Death,    441,    454-5, 

461. 

Mason,  Alfred   (2nd),  474. 
Mason,  Amos  Lawrence,  474. 
Mason,  Anna   Francis,   474. 
Mason,  Anna  Sophia,  474. 
Mason,  Rev.  Charles,  D.  D.,  94,  334, 

363,  364,  441,  448,  464,  474. 

College  Course,  464-5. 

Domestic  Life,  472. 

Early  Education,  464. 

Hebrew  Class,  465. 

Labors    and    Influence    in    Boston, 
467-9. 

Mental  Action,  470. 

Rector  of   Grace   Church,   Boston, 
467. 

Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Sa 
lem,  466. 


484 


INDEX. 


Sickness  and  Death,  473. 

Sunny  Temper,  469. 

Theological  Studies,  466,  470. 
Mason,  Mrs.  Charles,  448,  472. 
Mason,  Charles   Jeremiah,   474. 
Mason,  Clara  Thorndike,  474. 
Mason,  Daniel,  37. 
Mason,  Ellen  Francis,  474. 
Mason,  General    (of  Va.),  75. 
Mason,  George    Means,    98,    110,    221, 

268,  365,  440. 

College  Course,  441-2. 

Death,  443. 

Early  Studies,  441. 

Legal  Studies,  442. 

Mental  Character,  443. 
Mason,  Harriet  Sargent,  474. 
Mason,  Ida  Means,  474. 
Mason,  James  Fitch,  3,  6. 
Mason,  James  Jeremiah,  94,  108,  125, 

127,  146,  334,  349,  441,  453. 

Character,  463. 

Commences    Business     in     Boston, 
461-2. 

Death,  349,  463, 

Early  Education,  461-2. 

House  of  J.  W.  Paige  &  Co.,  462. 

Marriage,  463. 

Removal  to  N.  Y.,  462. 
Mason,  Miss  Jane,  94,  110,  131,  251, 

309,  474. 

Mason,  Jeremiah   (nephew),  3. 
Mason,  Colonel  Jeremiah,   2. 
Mason,  Deacon  Jeremiah,  1. 
Mason,  Captain  John,  1,  37,  227,  392. 
Mason,  Jonathan,  182. 
Mason,  Marianne,  474. 
Mason,  Mary,  474. 
Mason,  Mary   Elizabeth,   93,   98,   106, 

108,   110,   135,  251,  309,   358,   363, 

441  443-53.     See  Letter^. 

Character,  444-6. 

Devotion  to  her  Father,  445. 

Diary,  444-52. 

Moral  and  Spiritual  Growth,  445. 

Obituary,  452-3. 


Mason,  Mrs.,  143,  309,  323,  326,  352, 

437.     See  Letters. 
Mason,  Robert    Means,    94,    108,    424, 

427,  432,  434,  473. 
Mason,  Mrs.  R.  M.,  473. 
Mason,  Sarah,  474. 
Mason,  Susan,  474. 

Mason,   Jeremiah,   Main   Events 
in  his  Career — 

Excelled  in  Latin,  10. 

Excelled  in  Mathematics,  10. 

Proficient  in  Debate,  10. 

Deficient  in  English,  10. 
Examples,  "two  first,"  10. 

Graduated  from  Yale,  11. 

"Capital    Punishment,"    theme     at 
Yale,  12. 

How  induced  to  study  Law,  12. 

Father  opposed  the  study  of  Law, 
12. 

Clothes — Home-made,   12. 

Goes  to  Albany  to   start  in   Law, 
13. 

Studies  with  Simeon  Baldwin,  15. 

Justice  Court  Practice,  20. 

Admission  to  Vt.  Bar,  21. 

Admission  to  N.  H.  Bar,  23. 

Buys  Farm  and  Law-Practice,  23. 

Commences  Law  at  age  of  twenty- 
three,  23. 

Number   of   Cases   in   early   prac 
tice,  24. 

Takes  in  two  Students,  24. 

Determined  to  argue  all  cases,  25. 

"The  Pig  Case,"  25. 

Moves  to  Walpole,  27. 

Goes  to  Virginia  in  land  case,  32. 

Meets  Geo.  Washington,  32. 

Advised  by  Burr  to  Settle  in  Al 
bany,  36. 

Removes   to    Portsmouth   in   1797, 
39. 

Close  student  of  the  Law,  39. 

Marries  Mary  Means,  1799,  40. 

Attorney-General  of  N.  H.,  40. 


INDEX. 


485 


Meets  D.  Webster,  first  time,  41. 
Contrasted  with  Webster,  42. 
In  U.  S.  Senate  in  1813,  43. 
Methods  of  Office  Work,  43-5. 
Elected  U.  S.  Senator,  52. 
On  Senate  Committees,  62-3. 
Advice     on     Educating     Children, 

77-8. 

Against  "Salary-Grab,"   132-3. 
Deplores   long   Congressional    Ses 
sions,  138. 
Paintings     at     Bladensburg,     Md., 

138. 

Congressmen  should  travel,  138. 
Mrs.  Mason  passes  winter  of  1816- 

17  in  Washington,  139. 
Thought  in  1816  Federalists  would 

become  extinct,  143. 
Favors  Female  Education,  145. 
Refused    Chief   Justiceship    of    N. 

H.  Supreme  Court,  147. 
Resigns  from  U.  S.  Senate,  150. 

Reasons  therefor,  150,  154,  158. 
Why    he    located    in '  Portsmouth 

rather  than  Boston,  159. 
Method  of  Traveling  Circuit,  162. 
Engages     in     Dartmouth     College 

Case,  162-7. 

Points  made: 

1.  Legislative   Act,   not   within 
Scope  of  Legislature. 

2.  Against   Constitution    of    N. 
H. 

3.  Against    Constitution    of    U. 
S.,  166. 

Chosen  to  % State  Legislature,   242. 

Defeated  for  U.  S.  Senate  in  1824, 
288-9. 

Marshall's    Opinions,   lauded,    306. 

Advises  Webster  to  Remain  in  Sen 
ate,  311. 

Pres.  U.  S.  Branch  Bank,  at  Ports 
mouth,  314. 

Refused  to  Deliver  Books  of  Bank, 
317. 

Removes  to  Boston,  1832,  333. 


Reasons  therefor,  334. 
Not  Popular,  sarcastic,  outspoken, 

335. 
Wife — gentle,     sympathetic,    kind, 

335. 

Law  cases  where  found,  337. 
Geo.  S.  Hillard,  First  meets,  338- 

41. 
Suggests    law   to    Judge    Parsons, 

340. 

Story  Dedicates  his  Equity  Plead 
ings  to,  353-4. 

Retires  from  Practice  at  70,  354. 
Had  never  thought  whether   Rev. 

E.  K.  Avery  was  guilty,  or  not, 

361. 

Questioned  by  R.  I.   Lawyer,  361. 
Invited  to  become  member  of  Law 

Club  by  Chas.  G.  Loring,  361-2. 
Closing  Year,  363-6. 
Hillard's  Characterization,  366-84. 
Bust  by  Clevenger,  367. 
Large  Head,  367. 
Always  a  lawyer;   never  a  judge, 

367. 
Tried  Avery  case  at  65  years  of 

age,  367. 
Judge  lives  in  opinions;  lawyer  in 

memory  and  tradition,  368. 
Declined    Chief  Justiceship   of   N. 

H.,  368. 
Perhaps  greatest  lawyer  who  ever 

practiced  in  New  England,  368. 
Great  lawyers  differ  in  character 
istics — like  painters,  368. 
Mason's  Superiority  defined,  368-9. 
Used  plain  language,  371. 
Unfrocked  Quaker,  372. 
"If  you  ask  that  question  for  us, 

etc.,"  372. 
Cross-Examination,     methods     of, 

373. 

Assisted  John  J.  Clarke,  Reminis 
cence,  374. 

Tilt  with  E.  R.  Hoar,  374-5. 
Master    Conversationalist    Tather 


486 


INDEX. 


than  of  Books,  379. 

Of  decided  religious  convictions, 
380. 

Divine  power  seen  in  eclipse,  382. 

Webster's  estimate  of  Mason  20 
years  before  his  death,  383. 

This  estimate  not  changed  at 
death,  384,  390,  405. 

Milton  on  Fame,  384. 

Mason's  Mother,  perfection  of 
kindness,  393. 

Oration    at   Yale — greatest   pleas 
ure  of  Mason's  life,  393. 
Read  Law  with  Simeon  Baldwin, 
394. 

Characteristics  of  his  mind:  great 
ness,  strength  and  sagacity, 
399. 

Profoundly  religious,  402. 

"Dropped  liks  fruit  into  his  moth 
er's  lap,"  (Milton),  405. 

Judge  Shaw:  "Characterized  by 
strength,  energy  and  far-reach 
ing  sagacity,"  406. 

Judge  Woodbury:  "Choice  for 
ensic  speaker,"  408-409. 

Chas.  W.  Cutter:  "Greatest  mas 
ter  of  common  law  on  this  con 
tinent." 

Judge  Porter  on  Mason,  410-12. 

Ruf  us  Choate :  "Modest — wiser 
than  most  men,"  413. 

E.  R.  Hoar:  "An  intellectual 
treat  to  meet — Judge  John 
Marshall  considered  him  the 
greatest  master  of  common  law 
in  this  country,"  414. 

"Franklin  &  Hamilton — the  great 
est  men  U.  S.  has  produced," 
said  Mason,  416. 

Traveling  on  the  Lord's  Day,  418. 

Judge  Story:  "Had  ability  and 
depth  and  variety  of  learning, 
which  had  few  equals,"  419. 

Geo.   Ticknor:     "No  one  too  wise 


to  seek  his  counsel;  was  trust 
ed  and  dependable,"  420. 

Chas.  Summer:  "Grieved  for  what 
we  have  lost;  but  thankful 
that  we  have  had  such  a  great 
man  in  our  midst,"  422. 

W.  Plumer,  Jr. :  "If  he  had  moved 
to  Boston  and  Practiced  in  U. 
S.  Supreme  Court,  would  have 
been  first  lawyer  in  the  land," 
422. 

Edward  Everett:  "A  commenda 
tion  he  made  in  my  youth,  sank 
into  my  heart,"  423. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Morison  commends, 
427-32. 

Rev.  J.  S.  Stone's  Letter,  432-3. 

Chas.  B.   Goodrich's  Letter,  434-7. 

Mason's  Family  and  Descendants, 
437-74. 

Massachusetts  Claim,  205. 
Massachusetts  Convention,   251-2. 
Massachusetts  Legislature,  87. 
Mead,  Rev.  Mr.,  75-6. 
Meade,  Richard  W.,  186. 
Means,  Miss  Mary,  40. 
Means,  Colonel  Robert,  40. 
Member  of  Legislature  of  N.  H.,  238, 

242,  248-9,  287. 
Mercer,  Charles  F.,  184. 
Method  of  Cross-Examination,  373-8. 
Missouri    Slave    Question,    225,    228, 

232,  235-6,  238,  240-2. 
Monroe,  James,    133,    134,    143,    151, 

152,  155,  156-7,  193. 

Cabinet,  187. 

Successor,  181. 
Moore,  Colonel,  22,  23,  27. 
Morison,  Rev.  J.  H.,  427-32. 
Morrill,  David  L.,  185,  295. 
Mother,  2,  4,  393. 
Motion  to  Reduce  Army,  139. 
Mr.    Monroe's    Drawing     Room,     175, 

185-6. 
Murray,  Wm.    (Lord  Mansfield),  115. 


INDEX. 


487 


Mames, — Unessential     to     Remember, 

11    176. 

Narragansett  Indians,  1. 

Navigation    Act,    195,    197,    198,    200, 

263. 

Negotiations  at  Ghent,  93,  102. 
Neilson,     Joseph,      ("Choate's     Mem 
oirs"),  370. 

Nelson,  Mr.  Justice,  331. 
Nereide  Case,  212. 
Neutrality,   236. 
Newburyport,  64,  162. 
Newcastle,  90. 
Newcomb,  Judge,  25. 
New  Fane,  21. 
New  Hampshire — Disparaged     by    A. 

Burr,  36. 

Extolled   as   to   its    Statesmen,   by 
Rantoul,  408. 

Judiciary,  197-8. 

Resolutions,  325. 

State  of,  22. 
New  Organization    of    U.    S.    Courts, 

177,  178,  179-80. 
New  Orleans,  115. 
Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  112. 
New  York  City,  Population  in  1786, 

14. 

De  Witt  Clinton,  Mayor  of,  174. 
New  York     State — Early     Prejudice 

Against,  15. 
Nottingham,   Lord,    (Heneage  Finch) 

267. 

Numbers — Mere      Numerals       (some 
times),  236. 

Abituary  of  Mary  E.  Mason,  452. 

^   Offered  Chief  Justiceship  of  N.  H., 

147. 

Ogden  v.  Saunders,  113. 
Ohio  Resolutions,  249. 
Olcott,  Simon,  50,  237,  249,  395. 
Old  School  New  England  Clergymen, 

38. 
Oliver,  Dr.  F.  E.,  474. 


Onis,  Don,  195,  210,  212,  214. 

Osborn  v.  U.  S.  Bank,  248. 

Otis,  Harrison  Gray,  169,  174,  Sketch 

of,    182,    213,    230,    233,    237,    264, 

278. 

Otis,  James,  182. 
Our  Government,  78. 

Dackard,  Prof.  A.  S.,  421. 

*     Paige,  Mr.,  302. 

Paige,  J.  W.  &  Co.,  334,  462. 

Paine,  Thomas,  192. 

Panama  Question,  295. 

Paper  Bank,  118. 

Parker,  Edward  G.,  257-8,  337. 

Parker,  Nahum,  50,  51. 

Parrott,  John  F.,  225,  238,  278,  288. 

Parsons,  Theophilus,  40,  64,  114,  129, 

340,  379,  401;  Father  of,  38. 
Parties — must  be,  236. 
Parton,  James,  258,  259,  260. 
Payne,  Edward,  226. 
Payne,  William,  226. 
Payson,  Miss,  95. 
Peabody,  Rev.  A.  P.,  464. 
Peace  Society,  340. 
Pennsylvania,  62. 
Pequot  War,  37,  227. 
Perkins,  Tutor,  10,  11. 
Personal  Appearance,  367. 
Personal  Religion,  219,  220-1. 
Phelps,  Oliver,  32. 
Philadelphia,  14,  92,  99. 
Pickering,  Timothy,  30,   121. 
Pickering,  William,  317,  436. 
Pickering's  Reports,  337. 
Pierce,   General   Franklin,    295,    310, 

412. 

Pierrepont,  Dr.,  454,  457. 
"Pig  Action,"  25. 

Pinckney,  Charles  Cotesworth,  50. 
Pinkney,  William,  115,  121,  124,  193, 

207,  Sketch  of,  212,  256. 
Pinkney's   Embassy   to    Naples,    193, 

195. 
Plagiarism,  29. 


488 


INDEX. 


Plowden's  Commentaries,  29. 

Plumer,  Sir  T.,  272. 

Plumer,   Hon.   William,   50,   147,   163, 

278-9. 

Plumer,  William,  Jr.,  288,  401,  422. 
Politics  of  N.  H.,  50,  53. 
Political  Opinions,  52,  379-80. 
Political  Prospects,  172. 
Political   Prospects   in   England,   349- 

50. 

Pope,  N.  F.,  297. 
Pope,  Nathaniel,   185. 
Porter,  Judge  John,  297,  410. 
"Portfolio,"   (By  Jos.  Dennie),  30. 
Portland  City,  162,  169. 
Portsmouth,  36,  158-61,  333,  396,  439. 
Portsmouth  Fire,  74. 
Potter,  Dr.  Horatio,  364. 
Presence  of  Mind,  429. 
Poverty  after  Revolution,  16. 
Prescott,  William,  371. 
President    Monroe,    in    Boston,    152-3, 

156. 
President  Monroe,  in  New  York,  156- 

7. 
President     Monroe,     at     Portsmouth, 

158. 
President    Monroe,    Journey,     155-60, 

168-9. 

President  of  Branch  Bank  at  Ports 
mouth,  314. 
Presidential    Candidates,    257-8,    263, 

275,  280,  284,  309,  346,  348,  351. 
Prince  of  Wales'  Motto,  188. 
Proceedings  upon  Mr.  Mason's  Death: 

Circuit  Court  of  U.  S.,  407. 

Court  Common  Pleas,  Portsmouth, 
409-10. 

The  Merrimack  Co.  Bar,  412. 

The  Rockingham  Bar,  409. 

The  Suffolk  Bar,  387-8. 

Supreme  Court  of  Mass.,  390. 

Professional  Journeys,   162. 

Professional  Life  in  Boston,  335-6. 

Professional  Success,  40. 
Public  Affairs  in  1813,  61,  63. 


Putnam,  Judge,  362. 


Q 


uincy,  Josiah,  58,  231,  277. 
Quintilian,  394. 


Dand,  Mr.,  336. 

**   Randolph,  John,  121,  124,  127,  277. 

Rantoul,    Robt.,    Jr.,    Sketch    of,    407, 

408. 

Reading,  176. 
Reasons  for   Resigning  from    Senate, 

150,  152. 

Re-election  to  N.  H.  Legislature,  248. 
Reeve,  Judge,  13. 

Religious  Character,  380-1,  402,  431-2. 
Religion,  Importance  of,  78,  108,  219, 

220,  402. 

Remarks  on  the  Autobiography,  37-8. 
Reminiscences     by     Francis     Bassett, 

415. 

Reminiscences  by  Mr.  Lord,  43. 
Removal  to  Boston,  333. 
Removal  to  Portsmouth,   36. 
Replevin, — True  Doctrine  of,  254. 
Report  on  Manufactures,  328. 
Report  on  Ohio    Resolutions,    248. 
Report  on  Virginia    Resolutions,    242. 
Reporting  all   Decided   Cases, — harm 
ful,  254. 

Republican  Party,  50,   163,  287. 
Resignation  of  Judge  Sherburne,  278. 
Resigns  U.  S.  Senatorship,  155. 
Resumes  Professional  Life,  158. 
Retirement  from  Active  Practice,  354. 
Revolutionary    Officers    and    Soldiers, 

197. 

Revolutionary  War,  3. 
Rhinelander,  Dr.  and  Mrs.,  448. 
Rhodes,  James  Ford,  212,  280-1,  375. 
Rhode  Island  Case,  114. 
Richards,   Chief  Baron,   272. 
Richardson,  Chie'f  Justice,  435. 
Richelieu,  232. 
Rocket— "Up  Like;  Down  Like  Stick," 

192. 
Rockingham  Memorial,  51. 


INDEX.. 


489 


Rush,  Richard,  157,  199,  200,  235. 
Russell,  Jonathan,  60. 
Russell,  Tutor  Talcott,  10. 
Russia,  191. 

Cabbath,  7,  39. 

^    .Sage,  Rev.  Mr.,  18. 

Salem,  162. 

San  Francisco,  215. 

Sargent,   Mrs.,   124. 

Saybrook   Platform,   15. 

Scarlett,  James,  (Lord  Abinger),  371. 

Scene  in  a  Court-Room,  374. 

Scharon   Springs,  451. 

School,  7,  14. 

Schouler,  James,  60,  284-5. 

Scill,  Major,  14,  15. 

Scott,  Jas.  Brown,  267. 

Scott,  John   (Lord  Eldon),  448. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  338. 

Scott,  Wm.    (Lord  Stowell),  210,  253. 

Scott,  Gen.  Winfield,  91. 

Scriptures,  176. 

Seamen,  76. 

Sedgwick,  Judge,  13. 

Senior  at  Yale,  11. 

Sergeant,  John,  121,  317. 

Settles  in  Practice,  23. 

Seventy-Sixth  Birthday,  1. 

Shaw,  Lemuel,  336,  405-7. 

Sheafe,  James,  275. 

Shepard's  Life  of  Van  Buren,  332. 

Sherburne,  Judge,  278,  279. 

Sherman,    Roger,    15,    16,    Sketch    of, 

165. 

Shirley,  John  M.,  165. 
Smith,  Adam,  259. 
Smith,  General,  233,  234. 
Smith,  James,  199. 
Smithsonian  Institution,  199. 
Smith,  Jeremiah,    36,    40,    Sketch    of, 

114,  165,  396,  401. 
Smith,  Robert,  71. 
Smith,  Sam.,  169. 
Social  Life  in  Portsmouth,  159. 
South  American  Question,  188. 


Southard,  Samuel  Lewis,  291. 

Spain,  186. 

Sparks,  Jared,  212. 

Sparks,  W.  H.,  258. 

Spear,  Miss,  73,  76. 

Speech  on  Conscriptive  Bill,  99,  103. 

Speech  on  Constitutional  Amendment, 
123. 

Speech  on  Embargo  Bill,  72,  77. 

Sprague,  Peleg,  401. 

Springfield,  54. 

Standing  at  College,  10,  11. 

State's  Rights,  259-61,  262. 

Steamboat  Case,  276. 

Sterne,  Lawrence,  29. 

Stiles,  President,  8,  11. 

Stockbridge,  13. 

Stockton,  Howard,  474. 

Stockton,  Julia,  277. 

Stone,  Rev.  Dr.,  12. 

Stone,  Rev.  J.  S.,  432. 

Story's  Equity  Pleadings,  353. 

Story,  Joseph,  40,  167,  177,  212,  216, 
Sketch  of,  256,  Opinion  of  Mason, 
256,  306,  Life  and  Letters,  327, 
334,  401,  416,  428.  See  Letters. 

Story,  Mrs.  Jos.,  266,  299,  309,  323, 
325. 

Stowe,  Mr.,  6. 

Stowell,  Lord    (Wm.   Scott),  272. 

Students  at  Law,  24. 

Studies  Law,  15. 

Sullivan,  Geo.,  Sketch  of,  165,  213, 
231,  401,  408,  427. 

Sumner,  Charles,  340,  421. 

Supreme  Court  of  U.  S.,  253,  262,  272. 

Surviving  Children,  473-4. 

Swan,  Mr.,  214. 

Swift,  Jonathan    (Dean),  185. 

Tait,  Judge  Charles,  185,  186. 
[    Talbot,  Isham,  185. 
Talleyrand,  50. 

Taney,  Roger  B.,  212,  336,  347. 
Tariff,  281,   328-9. 
Taylor,  John,  104,  242. 


490 


INDEX. 


Taylor,  Zachary,  182. 

Tazewell,  Littleton  W.,  260,  275,  308. 

Texas,  Webster  on,  215. 

"They  Say,"  176. 

Thirteenth  Congress,  53,   57,   58. 

Thirteenth  Congress,  2nd   Session,  62. 

Thirteenth  Congress,  3rd    Session,  91. 

Thompson,    Thos.    W.,    185,   234,    235, 

401. 

Thorndyke,  Elizabeth  Francis,  463. 
Thorndyke,  Mr.,  313. 
Thurston,  Wm.,  24. 
Ticknor,    George,    161,   212,   305,   334, 

338,  349,  354,  355,  420. 
Ticknor,   George,  "Life  and  Letters," 

212,  372-3. 

Tisdale,  Master,  6,  393. 
"Today — Wait    Till    Tomorrow,"    176. 
Tomkins,  Daniel  D.,  71,  234,  235. 
Treasury      Department,      Resolutions 

Respecting,  82,  83. 
Treaty  of  Peace,  115,  116. 
Treaty  with  Spain,  210,  211,  214. 
Tributes  to  Mr.  Mason  by 

Hon.  Samuel  D.  Bell,  412. 

Rufus  Choate,  377,  413. 

E.  Rockwell  Hoar,  414. 

Ira  Perley,  Esq.,  412. 

Hon.  John  Porter,  410. 

Robt.  Rantoul,  Jr.,  407-8. 

Chief  Justice  Shaw,  405. 

Daniel  Webster,  390. 

Judge  Levi  Woodbury,  265,  408. 
Todd,  Judge,  268. 
Tristram  Shandy,  29. 
Troup,  Geo.  M.,  58. 
Trover,  action  of,  164. 
Troy,  New  City  of,  14. 
Trumbull  Family,  38. 
Trumbull   (the  elder),  6,  7. 
Turreau,  M.,  71. 
Tyler,  John,  121,  356. 
Tyler,  Royal,  30,  31,  395. 


ITncas,  the  Indian  Sachem,  3,  37,  227, 

U    392. 

Union,  87. 

Upham,  General,  320,  321. 

U.  S.  Senate,  56,  61,  70. 

U.  S.,  in   Insurance   Co.   v.   Durham, 

179. 

U.  S.  v.  Rice,  216. 
U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  274,  306. 
Usury  &  Usury  Laws,  46-9. 

Uan   Buren,   Martin,   Sketch   of,   331, 

344,  347,  351. 

Varnum,  Joseph   Bradley,   123. 
Vermont — land  grants,  16. 

Mason   settles   there    in    practice, 
17. 

Emigration  from  Conn.,  17. 

Bar  of,  21. 

State  of,  17,  18,  21-2. 
Vicar  of  Bray,  182. 
Vinton,  Rev.  A.  H.,  366. 
Virginia  Land  Agency,  32,  35. 
Virginia  Resolutions,  228,    235,    238, 

239,  241,  242,  243-8. 
Visit  to  Mr.  Ticknor,  354,  355. 

Walbach,  Colonel,  74. 
1  Walbach,  Mrs.,  74. 

Waldo,  Daniel,  10. 

Walpole,  19,  27. 

Waltham,  168. 

War  of  1812,  51,  53,  63,  90,  91,  101, 
266. 

Ware,  Dr.,  364,  365. 

Warren,  Dr.,  302. 

Washington,  Bushrod,  34,  216. 

Washington  City,  67. 

Washington,  George,  32,  34,  395. 

Webster,  Daniel,  36,  39,  41,  42,  51, 
53,  56,  58,  74,  75,  105,  Sketch  of, 
112,  129,  161,  165,  212,  215,  238, 
258,  279,  287,  302,  307,  370,  371, 
372,  390-405,  408,  415,  429.  See 
Letters. 


INDEX. 


491 


Webster,  Mrs.  D.,  74,  143,  277,  283, 
286,  302,  318. 

Webster's  Dartmouth  College  Argu 
ment,  166. 

Webster's  Discourse  on  Adams  and 
Jefferson,  300. 

Webster's  Estimate  of  Mason,  382-4, 
396-400. 

Webster's  Report  on  Compensation 
Law,  142. 

Webster,  Edward,  362. 

Webster,  Ezekiel,  Sketch  of,  292. 

Wellington,  Duke  of  (Arthur  Welles- 
ley),  136. 

West,  Benjamin,  23,  25,  27,  395,  400. 

West,  The,  215. 

Westminster,  Vt.,  17,  19,  20. 

Westmoreland,  N.  H.,  22. 

Wheaton,  Henry,  310. 

Wheelock,  Eleazor,  162. 

Wheelock,  John,  163. 

White,  Hugh  L.,  347,  351. 

Whitfield,  George,  64. 

Whiting,  Judge,  13. 

Whiting,  Mrs.,  13. 

Whiting,  Sam,  13. 


Widow's  Society,  446. 

Wilde,  Mr.  Justice,  374. 

Wilde,  Richard,  of  Ga.,  121. 

Williams,  Henry,  310. 

Williams,  John,  186. 

Williamson  College,  11. 

Windsor,  Vt.,  27. 

Wirt,   Wm.,    39,    112,    187,    211,    212, 

Sketch  of,  257,  291. 
Wiscasset,  162. 
Wolcott,  Oliver,  236. 
Woodbury,  Levi,  Sketch  of,  265,  288, 

289,  317,  321,  344,  408-9. 
Wood's  Hole,  354-5. 
Woodward,  Wm.  H.,  164. 
Woodworth,  Classmate,  14. 
Woolen  Manufactures,  328-9,  341-3. 
WraxalPs  Memoirs,  124. 
"Writs  of  Right,"  434. 
Wynd,  Henry,  57. 
Wythe,  George,  282. 

Vale  College,  7. 
1    Yorick,  29. 
Yankees,  181. 


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